Today, 15 August 2007, India marked its 60th anniversary of political independence from the British. Pakistan, which was created by the British partitioning of India at the time of independence, marked their 60th birthday yesterday.
So here’s wishing the Indo-Pak combine a meaningful 60th.
For human beings, 60 is a landmark age. In some cultures, it marks the beginning of senior citizen stage. Wisdom, maturity and exemplary conduct are assumed and expected of those reaching 60.
When it comes to nation states, however, things don’t quite work that way. India and Pakistan at 60 are a good example.
Yes, they have made significant advances on many fronts in the past six decades. But before that progress can be celebrated, we have to take note of the political and socio-economic turmoil that these two nations — harbouring close to 1.5 billion human beings between them — find themselves in.
Those tensions are exacerbated by the bitter nuclear arms race between these two still-impoverished nations.
When it comes to geopolitics of nuclear weapons, India and Pakistan behave worse than two sill school boys. This is how my friends at Himal Southasian magazine summed it up brilliantly:
And here’s another Himal cartoon which punctures the juvenile male obsession with weapons of mass destruction:
So let’s hope that the 60-year-olds will finally begin to act their age at least now!
Open Minds! 