An Indian Journey
Compared to Pakistan’s Karachi and Lahore airports, Mumbai’s domestic departure terminal was a shock, a scene of organized chaos. This disappointment lasted till one left the exit gates of the Terminal for boarding, the time taken from that point till the pull-back of the Boeing 737 of Jet Airways for departure from Mumbai to Hyderabad was a super-efficient 20 minutes, this included another mandatory security check and an optional one. There was no hassle. An elderly gentleman alongwith uniformed ADC went through the security checks and boarded the bus to the parked aircraft with us. Surprise, surprise. Next day we discovered when he came to address us at the South Asia Editor’s Forum (SAEF) meeting at the Sheraton, Hyderabad that he was Balram Jaikad, the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. While each one of the Ministers who addressed us including Union Ministers for Information and Culture. Jaipal Reddy and Praful Patel as well as Congress Party Chief Minister for Andhra Pradesh (AD), Dr Rajeshwar Reddy, was eloquent and impressive in extempore speeches exceeding 30-35 minutes, FC College Lahore Alumni (circa 1945) Balram Jaikad, former speaker of the Lok Sabha and Indira Gandhi’s Agriculture Minister etc was, alongwith Jaipal Reddy, the pick of the lot. None of the Ministers, as well as the Minister for Information, Andhra Pradesh displayed any arrogance or snobbery; it was singularly for me, and collectively for all my colleagues, who included Javed Jabbar, Mahmood Shaam, Senator Fasih, Agha Masood, Kazi Asad Abid and Riaz Mansuri an extremely pleasant experience, besides being a very informative one.
Brainchild of Javed Jabbar and Sandeep Waslekar, South Asia Editor’s Forum (SAEF) is a very useful mechanism to bring the key decision – makers in the South Asia media together.
Compared to Pakistan, India has a vast multitude of regional language newspapers and magazines that give little or no coverage to other South Asian countries. While South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) has done an excellent job in bringing journalists from the English, Urdu and Hindi languages together, the staggering numbers are an hindrance to easy understanding. There was a need to bring together smaller groups of decision-makers to foster both understanding and coverage, SAEF fills that need. No praise can be too high for Vijay Derda of the Lokmat Group of Publications (and a Rajya Sabha member) in the manner he organized the Meeting of the SAEF, with a lot of help from I. Venkat, was brilliant. In fact Mr. Derda got all of us classified as “state guests” of Andhra Pradesh, this was definitely different to my earlier experience as a “state guest” in 1971 in Agartala Jail and Panagarh PW Camp.
The last Nizam of Hyderabad built no palaces but Jubilee Hill was built in 1937 to commemorate the Nizam’s 25 years of reign, he was weighed in silver at this location. A little more than 50 years after Hyderabad was annexed by India, the only trace of the Nizam are the palaces built by his ancestors and the 100 or so children he left behind as claimants to his once fabulous wealth. History can be very unforgiving to those failed to capitalize on the opportunities given to them by destiny.
I came away from India with fixed feelings. This is definitely a country on the move. Having lunch with Ajit Gulabchand, the owner of Hindustan Construction Company, one of the major players in India’s construction boom, one was struck by the proliferation of on-going projects. While Hyderabad Airport was modern, the shanty towns next to high-rises gave a stark contrast between abject poverty and fabulous wealth. While there is direct evidence of tremendous growth, there is also the distinct culture shock of the tremendous gap between rich and poor.
While one does understand that to propel the economy by overdrive this contrast is inevitable, both economic and political planner have to give some thought, not only in India but in every divulging country to ensure that the gains of economic revolution are felt by a broad expanse of the masses. It is not difficult to understand, when in India physically why the BJP Govt was shown the door, that is why the ruling Congress Coalition is concentrating on the rural areas and giving relief to the desperately poor.
About friendship with Pakistan, there is no ambivalence among the leadership or the masses, however there is very little understanding of the facts on the ground and Pakistan’s approach to issues, particularly Kashmir and the water problems. Moreover there is a tendency to give importance only to Pakistan to the exclusion of other countries, particularly Bangladesh. There is an imperative need to ensure that South Asian dialogue does not become only an Indo-Pakistan one. However at every level, whether it be the political hierarchy or the workers at the grassroots level, one felt the enormous goodwill, a mass reservoir of feeling that cannot be denied. The people of South Asia will be watching their leaders with not only apprehension but anticipation. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all leaders whether they be in the media or political hierarchy to be not only responsible but responsive to the needs of the common man in South Asia.
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