Betrayal: The cost of working with Pakistan

Aditya Vashisht

The trailer of a Punjabi film starring a Pakistani actress in a lead role has created a stir among many Indians, since the film is being released after the recent conflict between India and Pakistan which was sparked by the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam which, unsurprisingly, was backed by Pakistan. The fact that the same actress insulted our army only constitutes a grave disrespect on the part of the film makers towards the sentiments of many patriotic Indians.

The filmmakers have already sensed the nation’s mood and thus have announced that the film will only be released overseas. But at a time when the Indian entertainment industry is moving forward in the direction towards nixing its ties with Pakistan, the release of the film is indeed unfortunate. The question which needs to be asked at this juncture is, why do Indian celebrities from time to time forget the hostility which Pakistan nurtures towards us and that why do they establish any contact with them, particularly professionally, which only gives Pakistan a legitimate space which it only uses further to backstab us.

Ties between India and Pakistan are obviously multi-layered and do involve deep cultural connections. But the very mindset of the Pakistani state and its people has been such which renders the prospect of fraternal ties redundant. The terroristic and extremist nature of the Pakistani state has time and time inflicted pain on India which has only made us realize the fact that Pakistan doesn’t stand for anything good and is especially an entity which only threatens us.

Pakistan has been very adept in pursuing its goals towards India. In this policy, its celebrities and its cricketers do play an important role, which many of us don’t realize. The hostility generated among Indians after recurring terror attacks in the past was covered up by the increasing popularity of Pakistani celebrities, or by playing more international matches, which sought to create a positive image of Pakistan and thus prevent any permanent hostility which Pakistan knew would be detrimental to its long term goals. This aligned with its policy of bleeding India by a thousand cuts, albeit slowly.

The fact that Pakistani celebrities stand by their nation through thick and thin, apparently not realising  that their own government plays a prominent role in sponsoring terror attacks only establishes the fact that they are mere pawns, and in some cases, some among them(especially cricketers), do themselves subscribe to an extremist outlook. As such , it is high time that Indians stop associating themselves with them, period. This is something which should not be subjected to individual arguments and should be accepted unquestioningly, by putting nation first.

The basis of a harmonious and peaceful co-existence between two peoples as well as nations requires a very essential thing called ‘reciprocity’. This is a quality which Pakistan and its people have failed to display. Taking up the case of the entertainment industry, a very senior and prominent Indian lyricist himself raised this issue, arguing that while Pakistani artists in India were received very favourably in India, ostensibly in a grand manner, the same, he emphasized, has never been the case with Pakistanis. He summed up the situation as being a ‘one-way traffic’.

This term, ‘one-way traffic’ is obviously a very apt term for characterizing relations between India and Pakistan. India and its people always stood for peace, despite having suffered an unjust partition of their enormous territory. Since independence, all wars fought by us were followed by a determined effort on the part of us to maintain peace and stability. But every time, the hand of peace was spurned disrespectfully by Pakistan and its people. Its government and its people chose the path towards greater extremism, which has inflicted on us grievous pains, be it the terror attacks during the early 2000s, 26/11 or the Pulwama attack and the Pahalgam attack, which has only put our relationship with them at a crossroads.

At a time, when we are rising as a nation and are looking towards the future with hope, at a time when we are moving, as a nation, vigorously towards the quest for becoming a strong power, Pakistan is an entity which constitutes a challenge for us. Its only purpose as a state is to retard us, sap our vital energy unnecessarily. As such our foremost mindset should be to cut all our links with it, especially at the level of the general populace. This is necessary, since Pakistan feeds on us, and to take the example of its celebrities, they used to make more money here than even in Pakistan. The time for us is to make its people realize the fact that relationship with India comes at a cost, and involves foremost reciprocity and mutuality. If your state continues to harm us with the goal of threatening our very existence, and you stand by it, then you cannot be accepted by India and its people, plain and simple.

The backlash which the film and its artists as well as makers are receiving is undoubtedly justifiable. This trend of continued association with Pakistani artists needs to be nixed in the first instance, with no chance being given to bring things back to normal, a word which for Pakistan means, disturbance and chaos. This association, to say again, is insulting and is unbecoming of us Indians who want to rise and contribute to the world positively, unlike our neighbour.

(Author is a student based in Lucknow. The views expressed are personal.)