We are not the same, people!

Yousuf Raza Gilani, the PM of Pakistan went on record a few days ago, stating that the cause of terrorism is poverty, disease and unemployment. Well how come only Pakistanis see terror as an alternative to povety, disease and unemployment? Know what we Indians do? We get a job, get ourselves to hospital or move to look for a job. We do not see our lives getting better by offering our lives to take others' lives! (How many terminally ill people would actually want to become terrorists? This Gilani is smoking something not yet sold this side of the border!)

For a while Asif Zardari, the so called democratically elected President of Pakistan said he doesn't "think" the terrorists who attacked Mumbai were Pakistanis. In fact, he said he doubted if they were Pakistani! How can he think and have doubts if he hasn't been presented any evidence, and why would Pakistan act to close seven terrorist training camps under US pressure if they still didn't have enough evidence of their country's involvement?

The repeated parrot squawking that comes from Islamabad is now a different shade - "You can't say the government is complicit just because the wrongdoers are Pakistani!" Well, what a change from "non-state actors" that were conjured up not too long ago! The truth is that Pakistan has been caught on its conniving backside on a sharp knife. Any which way it twists, it is going to hurt from now on.

As recently as today, the well known characters that Pakistan claimed it had under house arrest less than a week ago, are now miraculously "not in Pakistan"! Gee, we must all be idiots. Pakistan must be enjoying this game. And just before this diabolic claim, came the assertion that there is no evidence to put on trial Masood Azhar or anybody else currently being sought by India. Very dramatic indeed!

What we as Indians should realize is that Pakistanis are fundamentally different from us. Mentally, they are formed by two thirds of their post independence period under military rule. Socially, they are neither Islamic nor modern. Pakistanis in the US and the UK will act like they are very much part of the modern mainstream, but they also send money to charities that fund very illegal causes like terrorism. Somehow, Pakistanis always find a way to justify their behaviour, just like Imran Khan, the famous cricketer once said he doesn't know any fast bowler that doesn't tamper with the ball to get unnatural swing!

The lack of clarity right now in New Delhi comes from not knowing what yardstick to use to act against Pakistan. The truth is, Pakistan cannot be embarrassed. Pakistani diplomats will see anything as a victory as long as they can put on a show of some sort to postpone the next embarrassment. They are low in their approach, but cloak it with a smile as good as anybody else's. That is how they pull off their heists of complete deceit. Starting with Musharraf who projected himself as a friend of America in the war on terror, and then siphoned off a majority of the 100 million dollars he was given, to Gilani, who repeatedly says Pakistan is acting because of UN pressure, not India's, Pakistan has always placed the most conniving, shady, shadowy, slimy rascals in their top positions. In India, we simply set higher standards for we are fundamentally capable of seeing ourselves as righteous people.

There is without a doubt, an inferiority complex at play in Pakistan. Just like is so evident in Nepal. Neither country will ever be as powerful or as wealthy as India. In Nepal, strangely, there is even open animosity against India, Indians and our perceived "arrogance". It is easy for Indians to be seen as arrogant in Nepal, because we are used to better service. If we have expectations of these two countries that are much weaker than us, to be able to do even the simplest things we can do here in India, we'd be sadly mistaken.

Everything India does, Pakistan will want to copy. It has virtually nothing to contribute to the world on its own, and is forever doomed to be in India's shadow. Being an Islamic country doesn't exactly poise it for modern growth, either. But pride is a terrible alternative to incompetence, and Pakistan hasn't yet found out. Pakistan cannot take advantage of everything it gets from the world outside, like aid and weapons, and continue to act like it is a shining island of righteousness! It is bloody well answerable, no matter what it pretends to be or not be.

The responses that have come from Pakistan started with denial, matured to blabbering, and has now settled on jingoism. Gilani is trying to put up a brave face, but is a political fox, nothing more. Pakistan has no statesman the world would respect, like Manmohan Singh or Vajpayee. It has what most seedy shops have in tourist areas - a front! The real shops that offer value show up in reviews in global magazines and books. This is where India has scored heavily over Pakistan. No matter what, India has a good image worldwide, and it hasn't come upon us by accident. We have worked for our prosperity, we have worked for our place in the world by taking morally high paths in every forum.

It is the same inferiority complex that leads to the making of terrorists. They are all losers in their own minds, trying to get a slice of fame, of greatness. They just want to be noticed. Usually when they get noticed, they get killed, but that doesn't matter as long as they get noticed. This is the low mindset we are fighting against. There is no winning against this mindset. There is no changing this mindset as long as we are focussed on moving forward. Pakistan has been left far behind. They love to say that India and Pakistan have the same problems. They love to say we are the "same" people. Any association with India is really nothing but their desperate attempt to claw out of their inferior position.

We have learnt diplomacy, put in place a system that cannot be scoffed at, and despite all our failings, we have achieved enough in sixty odd years to feel pretty good about. We certainly are closer to perfection in all the stands we have taken as a nation than the USA can ever claim to be. But we should learn not to apply these diplomatic yardsticks to Pakistan. Pakistan is that yapping puppy at the heel, and it does not understand anything other than a kick to its face, and this time hard enough to knock a couple of teeth out. There are some of us who might want to kill the son of a bitch, but that may not be necessary. We can always kill it if it becomes a rabid dog.

To India, Pakistan does not figure in its every day considerations. Pakistanis could easily be as indifferent as India, but for some reason, it cannot. India shows up on TV, all of a sudden slicker and richer, and being touted as a superpower in the making. Pakistan cannot openly aspire to be like India. So, it is easy to cloak jealousy and envy in finding faults with India. Kashmir is a big fault, and we should thank ourselves for giving it to the Pakistanis. If we had been imperiously powerful like the USA, we can only imagine how shrivelled Pakistanis would feel. We are fast getting there and that is what is hurting Pakistan right now.

Our television invades their homes, our culture of prosperity is there at an arm's length, but they cannot taste it. They have never won a war against us, and now, our professional cricket league is something Pakistani cricketers are getting rich from! It suddenly looks as if Pakistan should love India, but understandably hating the success of India as an economic power. A feeling of impotence, inferiority and sometimes, utter despair seems to grip Pakistani leadership. This is not going to evaporate overnight. People retiring from the Pakistani military establishment are bound to support groups wanting to cause mayhem in India, self proclaimed strategic experts will not hesitate to suggest India, Israel and the USA are an anti-islamic nexus - as if this nexus would exist if we weren't fighting the same "Islamic" enemy!

Indian muslims will continue to be the confusing lot they do not understand! It was incredulous when they asked Irfan Pathan whether he would play for Pakistan, just because he is a Muslim. He immediately said, "No chance" with his infectious smile, as if to say, "What the heck are you talking about?" To Indian muslims, being muslim is a separate thing from being Indian. They are largely happy to be both, no matter what arguments they have with other extreme religious fanatics in India. The fact is, given all that has transpired in Mumbai, there has been no anti muslim reaction in India at all. This is so loudly conspicuous in its absence that Indian muslims of all economic strata would have undoubtely taken note of. Life goes on. That's the great thing about India. There is an India beyond this nonsense of terrorism.

We are superior to Pakistan in every possible way. For us it is a matter of deciding how much we want to pay to put Pakistan out of its misery. We cannot win efficiently against Pakistan until we decide how much we want to damage it. There is no way it is going to get away unscathed for its actions or inactions. But we need to get over this notion, however remote, that we can treat Pakistan as an equal. It simply isn't and will never be.