Those unaware of the chequered Indian-Pakistan history would have been amused by pictures of Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi ignoring each other at the SAARC summit. Many of them could have been forgiven for suspecting that the two leaders are sulking after a tiff on the neighbourhood playground.
The two PMs refused to acknowledge each other or make eye contact; appeared distracted and disinterested while the other made his speech and, as TV channels are reporting, agreed to shake hands only after their host Sushil Koirala intervened.
Only a few days ago, both the Prime Ministers were examples of bonhomie and bhaichara. They were exchanging calls, sending gifts like shawls and, if the Pakistan media is to be believed, their PM was resorting to mango diplomacy even when guns were blazing on the border. But, now, they don't even bother nodding at each other.
Both are justified in their profligate display of petulance. The Indian media and the Pakistan army is watching two PMs closely and none of them afford to show any signs of conviviality, lest it might be seen as sign of weakness. In the age of 24x7 TV and a virulent media, even a handshake is seen as a more definitive instrument of surrender than the Shimla Agreement. A mere nod of acknowledgement, or any sign of diplomatic etiquette for that matter, is a sign that both the countries are feeling a bit soft in the heart.
Consider the coverage of the event inDainik Bhaskar, a leading Hindi daily, on Thursday. On its front page it has pictures of Sharif shutting his eyes while Modi spoke and the Indian PM flipping through a magazine while his counterpart from Pakistan reads out his speech. 'Nazron se gire Nawaz,' screams the headline, in a clever mix of alliteration and jingoistic rhetoric.
This isn't the first time leaders from India and Pakistan have been forced to play to the galleries. The relation between leaders of the two countries has always followed a cyclical pattern: warmth-thaw-hope-frustration-anger-chill. The tragedy is none of these - India's Lahore Bus initiative and Pakistan's subsequent response, for instance-have taken the countries far. But in the absence of innovative strategies, both keep going back to the same drill.
0 Comments