'Our people in India only...': Lyricist Javed Akhtar on why he doubts relations between India and Pakistan will ever improve

Noted lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar said on Friday that he is doubtful that the relations between India and Pakistan will improve in the near future. Referring to South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a process that allowed victims and perpetrators of apartheid to come together, Akhtar said India and Pakistan missed a similar opportunity after Partition, which caused massive displacement and trauma on both sides.

"It is a bit late in the day for reconciliation. Our people in India only knew what happened to them after 1947-48. The people over there knew what happened with them. If only all of them had sat together once...It has been 75 years, they would be in their 90s now. How many of them would even be alive?" he said at the launch of a book titled "Farewell Karachi", written by film critic-author Bhawana Somaaya.

Akhtar said the governments of the two countries should have brought together refugees from both sides in the early or mid-1950s and let them share their stories. "Only then would we have truly known what happened to whom and what kind of atrocities were faced by how many people. It would not have remained one-sided. But this did not happen. Anyway, the situation in the near future, I do not think, will get much better politically," the 80-year-old writer said.

Hostilities between India and Pakistan intensified following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, on April 22. In response, Indian armed forces hit nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7 under the codename Operation Sindoor.

Akhtar criticised vested interest groups in Pakistan, particularly the army, the political establishment, and the extreme right-wing, for blocking peace efforts between the two nations. "There are crores of people in Pakistan today who want better relations with India -- not just because some are genuinely good people, but because many are drawn to India's scale and progress -- its big corporates, opportunities, cinema, business, IT and industrial growth. They are fascinated by the kind of research and development happening here. That is why a common person or a student from there aspires to come to India and be part of that world. Unfortunately, this is not in the interest of Pakistan's army, establishment, or right wing. That is the real issue," he said.

Akhtar said India tried hard to improve relations, both diplomatically and culturally, while Pakistan has not reciprocated at the same level.

"Our Army is very professional, they are not at all political. But it is not like that there (Pakistan). People say every country has an army and the Pakistani army has a country. So this is the difference," he said. "This does not mean that we do not have bad people here, and we have never done anything wrong. But the truth is that in this matter, the Indian government has been better than the Pakistani government in the last 70 years," he added.

Despite the tensions, Akhtar said India has never acted in an "aggressive" way.

"There is such a big dispute in Kashmir...In spite of our claim, we have never been aggressive. In fact, many people complain, 'Why are you not aggressive?' We are not that. So the aggression has always been from that side. So this is not right," he said.

Akhtar was accompanied by his actor wife, Shabana Azmi, at the event.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)

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