In a time warp

The author of Animosity at Bay: An Alternative History of the India-Pakistan Relationship believes we can have a calmer connection with our history

1

Why did protecting the rights of religious minorities become one of the key issues that shaped India-Pakistan relations in the early years?

Many of the discussions amongst Muslim politicians had concerned themselves with the question of how a collective framework for minority rights could be thrashed out. The years after Partition saw the continuation of this conversation. Part of the reason that the states of India and Pakistan were created in the first place was to protect the interests of minorities who were “left behind”. There was a desire to create new states that would behave like a safeguard for their religious brethren even across the boundary line. Talking through the religious minorities question was something that both states could do only after the Partition.

2

If the first five years of diplomatic ties were marked by a spirit of cordiality, what went wrong later?

As things stand today, the India-Pakistan relationship seems to have gotten lost in a particularly horrible situation. For two countries, whose challenges are so similar, and that have so much potential for a productive partnership, to be struck in a time warp of perpetuating hostility is a sad reality of the outcomes of the dreams of 1947. The reasons that underpin this hostility were evident from the first weeks that followed 1947 itself. Conflict in Kashmir, a tendency towards majoritarianism, the merciless persecution of minorities — these were all realities of the post-Partition landscape as well. What was different were the intentions of the leadership. They put in great efforts to explore solutions. What has shifted is the emphasis that either leadership places on trying to resolve the processes of partitioning while also pursuing paths to stable statehood.

3

What can a book like yours offer readers who consume narratives of the past spun by politicians and digital influencers?

Academics are among the few people who can really always push the envelope forward, and explore truly new ways of thinking about the past. There is increasingly a more dispassionate assessment about the history of different actors in South Asia, and how much responsibility they bear for the outcomes of today. It’s a slower process but it does influence “mainstream” thinking about history and society in the long term.

4

What can historians do to make sure the knowledge they produce isn’t used to instigate hatred and violence?

In order to have a more comfortable reconciling with one’s past, it’s important to see that the markers of identity that we use today aren’t final. People whom we think of as our ancestors played around with all kinds of ways of defining themselves and their subsequent generations. The more we can show that the past isn’t a place that can be used to justify and perpetuate the grievances of the present, the better we would be able to have a calmer relationship with our history.