BROUHAHA OVER KARTARPUR SAHAIB CORRIDOR and SIDHU !!

 By 

Gurmeet Sethi

11 August 2019

Imran Khan , the cricketer turned politician, turned Prime minister of Pakistan has indeed bowled a googly. But,  the question is why have the Indians been trapped leg before wicket?

The knee jerk reaction by all the political parties is at best kiddish . It is clear that they have been caught in the quagmire of events that unfolded after the inauguration ceremony.

It was expected of Pakistan to break through the Indian impasse, specially after the Pak Generals had successfully installed Imran Khan. They deliberately played low but remained in the shadows.A new  paradigm shift should have been expected and brain stormed by us, which I feel we did not ,and were complacent . We basked under our new found friendships with US, Japan , on the inclusive role in “Indo-Pacific”. Our deterioration of relations in the immediate neighbourhood  is setting alarms.

Pakistan wanting to shift the “Axis of Terror” to Punjab and earn credibility chose its objectives and timings deliberately. It hit three birds with one stone!

First, showing its magnanimity by playing the Kartarpur Sahaib Corridor card. A low cost win-all situation! It sent a message to the world community, as to how considerate it is towards the other religions/minorities and its belligerent neighbor, who is refusing to engage with it diplomatically. At a crucial time when Pakistan is facing an Economic crisis, and not much success at garnering International help , this low cost option was a brilliant idea! It would make its case softer with IMF., at least so does it pray.

Second, Targeting the Sikh community has been a well orchestrated scheme, where it knew that the community continues to nurse a grudge against the ungrateful political dispensations ever since partition.  Starting with, backtracking of promises during partition , to creation of Punjabi Suba, to denial of Chandigarh to water sharing issues to Operation Blue-Star to 1984 massacre of Sikhs. The adversary has kept track of the systematic alienation of the community , which may be beyond the comprehension of a normal Indian , who feels all has been well and fair. The echo of 2020 referendum played it loud and clear. We could have easily avoided this  had we been a bit more sensitive to fulfillment of the promises. A case in example is the long delay in justice to the victims of 1984 massacre of the minority community and the complicity  of the state across various governments. How easily we forgot, but would the effected families ever forget? Have we ourselves not sown the seeds of discord ? Any enemy would find easy preys. Then why did we jump to open this corridor? Because we were caught in a Catch 22 situation , due to our own foolishness! So we trooped our leaders to Pakistan and now find a small time escape goat in Sidhu!

Third,  The opening of this revered shrine to the Sikhs on the 550 th Guru Nanak Dev ji’s Jayanti, just four kms across, would cost Pakistan nothing , but earn goodwill. Oh no! It would get them an year round stream of devotees from world over, with generous offerings. Perhaps not as much as the Golden temple, but certainly substantial compared to the trickle earlier at this shrine. Ah ,Ha ! and all this at the disposal of GS Chawla, the President of Pakistan Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee who till date was sitting on empty coffers. He would now play to the tune of his Pakistani masters with aplomb with a new found status.The permit holders  who visit  the shrine, could be indoctrinated and Khalistani propaganda unleashed upon them and their sentiments roused. ISI would gleefully look for soft targets .

 The cricket diplomacy that we happily propagated for decades, without seriously engaging Pakistan has thrown up its results ! Imran & Sidhu !!  Good or bad, wait and watch!! But what is surprising is how immature we have proved ourselves once again by trying to deflect issues .Projecting  Sidhu as the trouble creator without bothering to put our own house in order , would be once again an exercise in  trying to befool ourselves. 

We also must accept the fact that today the Sikh diaspora is spread across the world like any other religious community. They are doing well in various walks of life and have earned the trust of the Governments by even starting to hold positions. As such, should they not be expected to pledge their loyalties to those nations. Likes of GS Chawla should therefore hold little significance in our media and lives to merit attention . He shall play to his masters .

We need not play on the backfoot and must step out to strengthen our team by applauding every positive move. The noise over Sidhu is unnecessarily allowing Pakistan to play to the gallery! Let us no longer rely only on Cricket Diplomacy and perhaps hit this loose ball for a six by capitalizing on the message of the Sufi saints and their unifying message that transcend corridors and boundaries.