Love Thy Neighbour...!!!!

The "Aman Ki Asha" initiative by Times of India and the Jang Group of Pakistan (one wonders whether the literal convenience of the use of the phrase "of India" in the former's name was the driver behind selection of TOI!!) is an interesting attempt at Track II diplomacy..........Evoked very interesting responses across all age groups and across all mediums.....For starters the soundtrack is amazing.....and the 2 min ad which runs on television is very touching and innovative.....feel good types.....But the problem possibly has never been with the common man of India and Pakistan.....Its the political setup of both the countries which essentially need to determine the way forward. All the niceties of the ad campaigns and other Track II initiatives end with the common man feeling good for a split second after the ad....the political top brass would obviously not and should obviously not be deviated from securing their political objective.....Of course the campaign managers of the AKA campaign would claim that the latest ad goof up of including the ex-Pakistan Air Force Chief in an Indian Ad Campaign for the Girl Child was completely a result of their ad campaign (http://bit.ly/5C9ICW)!!! In fact the PMO instead of apologising could have given this devious logic and gotten away with it maybe....Anyways, coming back to the point i was trying to make....The fact that this country which we are trying to love keeps sending messengers of love makes our task that much more difficult...I am sure we all agree that there is no need for us to love Pakistanis more than the Chinese or the Americans or the Portugese for that matter....As in, we as Indians or Pakistanis need not take a symbolic and potentially farcical stand of loving the neighbours concerned a bit more to enable resolution of the Kashmir issue......Let representatives we have chosen through the most expensive electoral process in the world decide what is right for the country and do the needful....If that involves bombing terrorist camps in Pakistan...so be it...or even if it means making bus journeys to Lahore and praising Jinnah so be it as well....And finally one wonders whether the people behind the AKA campaign would be cringing in their seats when they saw the IPL teams giving Pakistani players the royal ignore!!!! Maybe the franchise owners did it in Aman ki Asha !!