A wake-up call from World Bank
It is alarming to witness how war, the wrong turn, is glorified in our two countries, despite facing off with such grave problems. Pakistan and India don’t just share a common boundary, and culture, but share common problems too.
In a recent report on Poverty & Shared Prosperity, the World Bank has highlighted regions, including South Asia primarily comprising of both, India & Pakistan, to be lagging behind the rest of the World in delivering life, as we call it, to their people. The report several issues being faced, prominent being poverty, illiteracy, and inequality, all of which are quite familiar with the quarrelsome neighbors. Although the two countries, as highlighted by the report, enjoy a lead over one another in respective areas, the overall picture of both is not impressive at all, and needs a great deal of improvement.
The report highlights 21 percent of Indian population to be living below the poverty line, as defined by the World bank, which is approximately 3 times as compared to 8.3 percent in Pakistan. However, the equation gets balanced out, as India’s total population is more than 3 times to that of Pakistan. The report highlights Pakistan as a country where the income of the poor is increasing faster than average, as opposed to slower than average in India.
India takes a lead on Pakistan in average life expectancy, marked around 68 as compared to 66 in Pakistan. Malnutrition also seems to be a lesser problem in India. 15 percent of Indian population faces the problem of malnutrition in India, whereas Pakistan stands at 22 percent, which is pretty high with respect to the total population of the country.
The World Bank lists Pakistan among countries that are experiencing an encouraging abatement in the rates of inequality from previous years. India, on the other hand, still faces this mammoth problem at home.
No matter which country of the two takes a lead on the other, this report is undoubtedly a wake-up call for both to avoid any wrong turns, and to focus on problems that pose greater threats in the long run to both, Pakistan and India.
The 3rd Umpire
Although the World Bank has been overly criticised for its policies, it’s role here as a neutral umpire must be acknowledged and its efforts to draw the attention of responsible leaderships of India and Pakistan towards their very real problems must be applauded. Coming from a 3rd body, the problems highlighted in the report must recognised, and given due consideration by the leadership of two countries in order to achieve sustainable solutions.
The Glorified Wrong Turn
It is alarming to witness how war, the wrong turn, is glorified in our two countries, despite facing off with such grave problems. Pakistan and India don’t just share a common boundary, and culture, but share common problems too. The race to acquiring regional hegemony over one another has, however, blind-folded a large population of both countries of these problems. Our politicians, bureaucracies, armed forces, media, and even the most general public, apparently, think that enmity between the two countries is the greatest reality. From top to bottom, we are accustomed to live in the past, ignore our present, and jeopardise our future, and that of the region’s at large.
Reality is much more brutal than just India and Pakistan, and we, together, need to realise the ground realities, embrace our problems, and work towards sustainable solutions for shared prosperity of the people.
War, between Pakistan and India, will certainly do more harm than good, and putting an end to glorifying it’s horrors on both sides is inevitable for a prosperous South Asia.
Patriotism or Jingoism?
There is a very thin line that distinguishes patriotism from jingoism. Our two nations, unfortunately, in the name of being patriotic, apparently are jingoistic and this reflects in troubled situations particularly through our policies, our national responses, and our emotions.
War, no matter how strong and influential a country is, can never be in harmony with the welfare of its people, as it jeopardises their lives, and properties, and is a setback for the economy.
Patriotism demands that welfare and prosperity of the country is to be prioritised over any other. Our policies, our national responses to situations, and our emotions, all must be aligned with the welfare and prosperity of our people. War, no matter how strong and influential a country is, can never be in harmony with the welfare of its people, as it jeopardises their lives, and properties, and is a setback for the economy.
Jingoism has led to 3 wars between India and Pakistan, and the consequences suffered as a result still have their marks on our history. Continuing on the same path might lead to many more, and the two countries, instead of moving forward, will always push each other a step back.
It is high time for the two nations to re-designate themselves as patriots, rather than jingoists, and this can only be achieved when the torch bearers on the two sides i:e; the political leadership, the bureaucracies, the armed forces, and the media in particular, act responsibly under all circumstances, and embrace the role of ice breakers.
The Way Forward……
So one may question, if going to war with each other at this point in time is the wrong turn, then what is the right turn for the two countries??? The answer, however, is fairly simple i:e; to avoid war and move on. At present, none of the two countries is in a state of absorbing the shocks of war. The focus, therefore, needs to shift from waging war against each other to fighting against the common enemies (common problems) facing the two countries since ages. Poverty, Illiteracy, and Inequality have, and will continue to keep us behind our time if not dealt on both sides with sincere intent.
The future generations of both, Pakistan and India, deserve a better history than just war, hatred, and enmity. It is indeed a need of time that both the countries embrace each other with their problems, and work together to overcoming those problems and putting an end to the ever existing poverty, illiteracy, and inequality.
Let’s give our future generations a past they could be proud of, and look up to as a guide in troubled times.
