Ordinary Pakistanis seem to love Indians. Do we love them back?

[Musafir117]

Radicals/fundamentalists both sides do hate each other, normal and bright minded people from both sides don't care much, the main issue among us is Kashmir issue that need to be discussed and settle in civilize way with good honest gesture for betterment of region. There are dozen of countries in world who are engaging each other for dispute land issue but no one taking arms for that.
Funny thing is that inhabitants of both countries are more friendly in a third country, may be an atmosphere facing many problems in home lands made us more narrow minded.
Islamic teachings teach us to be a good host whoever guest is, personally I don't care if have a chance to host anyone without thinking his cast creed religion etc.

 

[kakathiya]

I don't know where Pakistan is, i have just heard it lies to the north west of India, I will feel alien in north India an hence Pakistan is like mars to me, so i will see with astonishment when ever i see a Pakistani, are wah e bhi hamare hi tarah insaan hain main to kutch aur hi socha tha

 

[Abingdonboy]

“Aap India se hai? You are Indian? That makes you our guest. We can’t take any money from you!”

It was my fourth and last day in Islamabad, and this reaction from a handicrafts shop salesman didn’t surprise me any more. I’d been getting it from the first day, this outpouring of warmth and generosity from Pakistanis the moment I mentioned India, and it never failed to charm me.

When I flew from Mumbai to Islamabad earlier this month, I was excited about finally getting a glimpse of India’s estranged midnight twin, about meeting the people who are ‘just like us’ but still the perpetual ‘other’. I was preparing for four days of spotting similarities and differences, but the only striking difference I was able to discern was one that left me with a twinge of shame: all the Pakistanis I encountered love Indians, but most Indians don't return the love.

You must have some tea

I was in Islamabad for an international women’s empowerment conference organised by the American Embassy in Pakistan, and my precious single-city visa was valid for just seven days. The conference was an impressive gathering of nearly 300 women and men from all over Pakistan, who made sure that the few of us representing other South Asian neighbours – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Maldives – were treated like mini celebrities. (Lots of selfies were involved, of course.)

But the two of us from India – one Mumbaiite and one Kashmiri – began getting special attention much before we met any of the like-minded, well-travelled people at the conference.

First, it came from the otherwise sombre immigration officials at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto airport where we landed: a lady officer, while scanning our documents, grinned mischievously at us and said, “Indiawaale tohsuspicioushote hai” – Indians are objects of suspicion, right? We grinned back and proceeded for the airport police verification for foreigners, where the official took a break from an argument with another man to say, “You are from India? You must have some tea!”

One Potato, Two Potato

Outside our hotel, we had time to grab a quick lunch before the conference began, and the only restaurant open on a Friday afternoon in Jinnah Market was OPTP – One Potato Two Potato – serving American fast food. We had been dreaming of kebabs and biryani, but for now, burgers and fries it had to be.

I still hadn’t had time for foreign exchange, so Ashwaq – my fellow Indian traveller – offered to pay for lunch with the Pakistani rupees that she had acquired from an agent in Delhi. But the cashier wouldn’t take them. “These are outdated notes, madam,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. "They are no longer valid." We pleaded, and after a minute of thumb-twiddling, he double-checked with a friend and came back with the same response: the notes couldn’t be accepted any more.

Tired and hungry, we cursed the dubious Delhi agent – and then it began. “Delhi? Are you from India?” the cashier said. “Well, it’s okay. I’ll take the old notes. You are our guests.” He insisted, and the burgers and fries, and the free cheese dips he threw in didn’t taste so American any more.

My first ever cup of tea

This experience repeated itself almost everywhere throughout our four days in Islamabad. Pakistanidildaaritowards Indians seemed to be widespread, and manifested itself in discounts, mementoes and many eager conversations about common cultures, Bollywood and of course, cricket.

On my third night, while gorging on meaty street food at Melody Food Park, thisdildaarimoved me to do something I never imagined I would: I drank a whole cup of tea, a beverage I dislike almost as much as coffee. (I’m weird, I know.) For journalists, sharingchaiwith sources is often the smoothest way to break the ice and win trust, but I always wriggle out of the ritual by claiming I’m allergic to tea.

But this tea – a steaming cup of Peshawarikahwa– was a treat from a humble vendor ofchappal kebabs, who couldn’t contain his excitement when he found out I was Indian. “I’ve always wanted to go to India! You have to let us show you our hospitality!” he said, and served us a complementary kebab along withkahwa.

I’m still no fan of any kind of tea, but that cup definitely left me warm inside.

And Indians?

So what answer did I have to the one question that so many hospitable Pakistanis in Isloo, as they call Islamabad, asked of me so eagerly, both in and outside the conference?

The question would typically come after heartfelt conversations about India, Pakistan, Kashmir and the politics that separates us: “We really love Indians – after all, we’re basically the same people. Do Indians feel the same way about us?”

Often, my response was a bright “We do!”, but was that really true? Was I speaking for most Indians or just a minority of sickular liberals like me? Every time I faced that question, my guilt-ridden mind would think of the many "go back to Pakistan" exhortations Indian Muslims have often faced, and the casual "are you meeting terrorists?" jokes that so many of my own friends had cracked when I got my visa for Pakistan.

The next time I cross the border ‒ Karachi and Lahore are on my bucket list ‒ I hope to have a more honest response to that question. I want that response to be, “Of course we love you too!”

Scroll.in - News. Politics. Culture.

@jamahir @levina @WAJsal @The_Showstopper @takeiteasy @rockstar08 @haviZsultan @friendly_troll96 @Armstrong@

Absolute insanity to put Indian feelings for Pakistanis and Pakistani feelings towards Indians on equal footing.

India and by extension Indians have been on the receiving end of state sponsored terrorism from Pakistan for more than 50 years now, this is of course going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of many (if not all) Indians, is this so unreasonable to expect? And the fact that a great part of Pakistan's identity is simply being anti-India simply means there cannot be harmony, any Indian who peddles the same tired cliches of "the same culture/people" and that people on both sides want to be friends are living in some fantasy world, the "liberal" Pakistanis they interact with are not representative of all Pakistanis.

Why not a single mention of Hafiz Saeed and the fact he is walking around freely inside Pakistan to this day and his rallies are attended by tens of thousands of Pakistanis? This is a display of the Pakistani people's love for India is it?


Certain liberals in India really do live in their own world....

how one can hate its own home?? doesn't matter how bad it is.

lol, just come to the UK mate, there are plenty "British" nationals who despise Britain and its people.

Its been 68yrs since our independence, the generation which had to face partition is gone. And the raison d'eter we still have bitterness between the 2 countries is courtesy our governments (and armed forces). They 've manipulated our thought process and made us believe that the country on the other side of border is our enemy. Agree?

I have to disagree, Pakistan has been waging a proxy war on India from pretty much day one (1947 when they sent "irregulars" into Kashmir), have started 4 wars with India and have launched countless terror attacks on Indian soil targeting Indian civilians not to mention a whole host of other anti-India activities (backing numerous separatist movements in India, distributing fake Indian currency etc etc), no one has "manipulated" this- it has occurred and thus there is a backlash in India.

I'm not saying India has always played fair itself BUT, objectively, there is a villain and a victim here and that is a result of the way Partition occurred and the role Pakistan took after that time i.e. as the nemesis of India.

I think we can all agree that if it wasn't for the proxy war, actual wars and terror activities aimed at India, Indians/India really would be very indifferent to Pakistan like they are with all other neighbours (BD, SL, Nepal and Bhutan). India wants to get on with its own business but it is Pakistan that had kept the animosity alive to the pint where I feel the Indian side has entrenched their anti-Pakistan (state) side.

After 1971 if Pakistan had simply accepted defeat, introspected and decided to accept their place in the region/world and look to fix their internal issues there would be little issue with Pakistan today outside of a few diplomatic issues that may exist (as they do with all of India's other neighbours) however Pakistan chose another path and 1 war, 3 major terror attacks and a continued proxy war campaign later here we are....

See again that mentality that its only PA who does that. Indian army does exactly the same and why won't you raise a finger to your armed forces? Are they infallible, gods, or not prone to misjudgment? Don't you pride yourself in being the biggest democracy in the world and isn't accountability a central tenet of democracy? I don't think the Indian armed forces receive half the flack that Pakistani armed forces do from its people and yet it's Pakistan where the army is the holy cow.

Everyone needs a bogeyman to keep their populace in line. For you, its us and for us its you and looking at the geography of the two countries, you can't really blame Pakistan for over reacting.

Again, a basic flaw in your assertion is placing the PA and IA as equals i.e. they operate in the same manner, are identical in function, hierarchy and are thus responsible for the same amount of negatives. BUT this is nonsensical because the IA and PA are inherently very different. The PA has injected itself into every aspect of Pakistan's society and her institutions and has acted as a political authority for decades (and continues to do so today) who are directly responsible for the foreign policy of Pakistan and specifically towards India. In order to achieve the control on Pakistani society they have they have had to carve out this anti-India sentiment in Pakistani society.

The Indian army on the other hand is entirely apolitical and not involved in the policy formulation of the Indian state in anyway whatsoever and they do not require on creating a "boogeyman" to be allocated resources every year.

You have to when your main cities are within 50 kilometers of the other's borders. You can't really say the same for India which has strategic depth and that's exactly why Pakistan talks about disproportionate response because it does not have strategic depth. It stands to lose more quicker and hence has to react sharply even to a smaller threat.

Very telling, this insecurity felt by Pakistan and its lack of "strategic depth" is clearly at the heart of a lot of the animosity Pakistan/Pakistanis feel towards India whilst I don't think this notion would even enter the vast amount of Indians' minds.

Like I said, there is no point in placing equal weighting to the two nations, both have different perspectives and are responsible for different elements of the current scenario but let's not pretend both sides are as bad as each other.

Are you saying that India has never been involved in any sabotaging activities against Pakistan? India does EXACTLY what Pakistan does. No one is innocent here, the sooner you accept that, the easier it will be to fix things.

Please, show me when the Indian state sent terrorist to Pakistani to butcher 166 people in hotels and train stations. Both sides have done wrong but one side has clearly done far more. The sooner you, the Pakistani state and its people accept this the easier it will be to fix things, this sticking your head in the sand and trying to degrade India to Pakistan's level isn't helping anything.

 

[Levina]

See again that mentality that its only PA who does that. Indian army does exactly the same and why won't you raise a finger to your armed forces? Are they infallible, gods, or not prone to misjudgment? Don't you pride yourself in being the biggest democracy in the world and isn't accountability a central tenet of democracy? I don't think the Indian armed forces receive half the flack that Pakistani armed forces do from its people and yet it's Pakistan where the army is the holy cow.

Why do you ignore the fact that we were pulled into this mess by your country? How can you forget that despite signing a non-intervention agreement immediately after independence, your tribesmen attacked J&K?
Our army has mostly retaliated to the attacks, none of the wars(Indo-pak wars) were started by India. So yes, it would be difficult for me to raise a finger at our army. I would not say our armed forces 're angelic, but comparatively..yes.

Everyone needs a bogeyman to keep their populace in line. For you, its us and for us its you and looking at the geography of the two countries, you can't really blame Pakistan for over reacting. You have to when your main cities are within 50 kilometers of the other's borders. You can't really say the same for India which has strategic depth and that's exactly why Pakistan talks about disproportionate response because it does not have strategic depth. It stands to lose more quicker and hence has to react sharply even to a smaller threat.

What is India's excuse for acting like a hormonal teen all these years?

A teenager?
India's patience was tested time and again, at times we were pushed to the wall to react. Go through NS's speech in UN and then you'll know that your politicos and forces 've always tried to provoke their Indian counterparts with their words and action.

Now I must add that you come across as somebody who is ready to lend an ear to the other side. It has been a long time since I last read a comment from a Pakistani which was not prejudiced.

 

[A.Rafay]

who is parwati?

A fat old "saas" from indian serial i guess!

 

[Thorough Pro]

Well we love our dicks! LOL on a serious note though "Loving Indians" would certainly be a stretch, however we Pakistanis are very hospitable nation on individual and collective level and take pride in that, and will be respectful and hospitable to everyone in our home/country including our enemies.

“Aap India se hai? You are Indian? That makes you our guest. We can’t take any money from you!”

It was my fourth and last day in Islamabad, and this reaction from a handicrafts shop salesman didn’t surprise me any more. I’d been getting it from the first day, this outpouring of warmth and generosity from Pakistanis the moment I mentioned India, and it never failed to charm me.

When I flew from Mumbai to Islamabad earlier this month, I was excited about finally getting a glimpse of India’s estranged midnight twin, about meeting the people who are ‘just like us’ but still the perpetual ‘other’. I was preparing for four days of spotting similarities and differences, but the only striking difference I was able to discern was one that left me with a twinge of shame: all the Pakistanis I encountered love Indians, but most Indians don't return the love.

You must have some tea

I was in Islamabad for an international women’s empowerment conference organised by the American Embassy in Pakistan, and my precious single-city visa was valid for just seven days. The conference was an impressive gathering of nearly 300 women and men from all over Pakistan, who made sure that the few of us representing other South Asian neighbours – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Maldives – were treated like mini celebrities. (Lots of selfies were involved, of course.)

But the two of us from India – one Mumbaiite and one Kashmiri – began getting special attention much before we met any of the like-minded, well-travelled people at the conference.

First, it came from the otherwise sombre immigration officials at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto airport where we landed: a lady officer, while scanning our documents, grinned mischievously at us and said, “Indiawaale tohsuspicioushote hai” – Indians are objects of suspicion, right? We grinned back and proceeded for the airport police verification for foreigners, where the official took a break from an argument with another man to say, “You are from India? You must have some tea!”

One Potato, Two Potato

Outside our hotel, we had time to grab a quick lunch before the conference began, and the only restaurant open on a Friday afternoon in Jinnah Market was OPTP – One Potato Two Potato – serving American fast food. We had been dreaming of kebabs and biryani, but for now, burgers and fries it had to be.

I still hadn’t had time for foreign exchange, so Ashwaq – my fellow Indian traveller – offered to pay for lunch with the Pakistani rupees that she had acquired from an agent in Delhi. But the cashier wouldn’t take them. “These are outdated notes, madam,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. "They are no longer valid." We pleaded, and after a minute of thumb-twiddling, he double-checked with a friend and came back with the same response: the notes couldn’t be accepted any more.

Tired and hungry, we cursed the dubious Delhi agent – and then it began. “Delhi? Are you from India?” the cashier said. “Well, it’s okay. I’ll take the old notes. You are our guests.” He insisted, and the burgers and fries, and the free cheese dips he threw in didn’t taste so American any more.

My first ever cup of tea

This experience repeated itself almost everywhere throughout our four days in Islamabad. Pakistanidildaaritowards Indians seemed to be widespread, and manifested itself in discounts, mementoes and many eager conversations about common cultures, Bollywood and of course, cricket.

On my third night, while gorging on meaty street food at Melody Food Park, thisdildaarimoved me to do something I never imagined I would: I drank a whole cup of tea, a beverage I dislike almost as much as coffee. (I’m weird, I know.) For journalists, sharingchaiwith sources is often the smoothest way to break the ice and win trust, but I always wriggle out of the ritual by claiming I’m allergic to tea.

But this tea – a steaming cup of Peshawarikahwa– was a treat from a humble vendor ofchappal kebabs, who couldn’t contain his excitement when he found out I was Indian. “I’ve always wanted to go to India! You have to let us show you our hospitality!” he said, and served us a complementary kebab along withkahwa.

I’m still no fan of any kind of tea, but that cup definitely left me warm inside.

And Indians?

So what answer did I have to the one question that so many hospitable Pakistanis in Isloo, as they call Islamabad, asked of me so eagerly, both in and outside the conference?

The question would typically come after heartfelt conversations about India, Pakistan, Kashmir and the politics that separates us: “We really love Indians – after all, we’re basically the same people. Do Indians feel the same way about us?”

Often, my response was a bright “We do!”, but was that really true? Was I speaking for most Indians or just a minority of sickular liberals like me? Every time I faced that question, my guilt-ridden mind would think of the many "go back to Pakistan" exhortations Indian Muslims have often faced, and the casual "are you meeting terrorists?" jokes that so many of my own friends had cracked when I got my visa for Pakistan.

The next time I cross the border ‒ Karachi and Lahore are on my bucket list ‒ I hope to have a more honest response to that question. I want that response to be, “Of course we love you too!”

Scroll.in - News. Politics. Culture.

@jamahir @levina @WAJsal @The_Showstopper @takeiteasy @rockstar08 @haviZsultan @friendly_troll96 @Armstrong@

bend over! LOL

I demand you love us..damn it...

 

[timetravel]

Common person loves and respects Humanity and values our heritage. So obviously there is love for the other side.

But the radicals (who control and run Pakistan and are a stooge of KSA) want nothing short of Islamic conquest of India.

 

[GHOST RIDER]

Eww!!!
I'd rather love a pig and name it "Indian" to make it sound legit.

Post of The Month

 

[GodToons]

“Aap India se hai? You are Indian? That makes you our guest. We can’t take any money from you!”

It was my fourth and last day in Islamabad, and this reaction from a handicrafts shop salesman didn’t surprise me any more. I’d been getting it from the first day, this outpouring of warmth and generosity from Pakistanis the moment I mentioned India, and it never failed to charm me.

When I flew from Mumbai to Islamabad earlier this month, I was excited about finally getting a glimpse of India’s estranged midnight twin, about meeting the people who are ‘just like us’ but still the perpetual ‘other’. I was preparing for four days of spotting similarities and differences, but the only striking difference I was able to discern was one that left me with a twinge of shame: all the Pakistanis I encountered love Indians, but most Indians don't return the love.

You must have some tea

I was in Islamabad for an international women’s empowerment conference organised by the American Embassy in Pakistan, and my precious single-city visa was valid for just seven days. The conference was an impressive gathering of nearly 300 women and men from all over Pakistan, who made sure that the few of us representing other South Asian neighbours – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Maldives – were treated like mini celebrities. (Lots of selfies were involved, of course.)

But the two of us from India – one Mumbaiite and one Kashmiri – began getting special attention much before we met any of the like-minded, well-travelled people at the conference.

First, it came from the otherwise sombre immigration officials at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto airport where we landed: a lady officer, while scanning our documents, grinned mischievously at us and said, “Indiawaale tohsuspicioushote hai” – Indians are objects of suspicion, right? We grinned back and proceeded for the airport police verification for foreigners, where the official took a break from an argument with another man to say, “You are from India? You must have some tea!”

One Potato, Two Potato

Outside our hotel, we had time to grab a quick lunch before the conference began, and the only restaurant open on a Friday afternoon in Jinnah Market was OPTP – One Potato Two Potato – serving American fast food. We had been dreaming of kebabs and biryani, but for now, burgers and fries it had to be.

I still hadn’t had time for foreign exchange, so Ashwaq – my fellow Indian traveller – offered to pay for lunch with the Pakistani rupees that she had acquired from an agent in Delhi. But the cashier wouldn’t take them. “These are outdated notes, madam,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. "They are no longer valid." We pleaded, and after a minute of thumb-twiddling, he double-checked with a friend and came back with the same response: the notes couldn’t be accepted any more.

Tired and hungry, we cursed the dubious Delhi agent – and then it began. “Delhi? Are you from India?” the cashier said. “Well, it’s okay. I’ll take the old notes. You are our guests.” He insisted, and the burgers and fries, and the free cheese dips he threw in didn’t taste so American any more.

My first ever cup of tea

This experience repeated itself almost everywhere throughout our four days in Islamabad. Pakistanidildaaritowards Indians seemed to be widespread, and manifested itself in discounts, mementoes and many eager conversations about common cultures, Bollywood and of course, cricket.

On my third night, while gorging on meaty street food at Melody Food Park, thisdildaarimoved me to do something I never imagined I would: I drank a whole cup of tea, a beverage I dislike almost as much as coffee. (I’m weird, I know.) For journalists, sharingchaiwith sources is often the smoothest way to break the ice and win trust, but I always wriggle out of the ritual by claiming I’m allergic to tea.

But this tea – a steaming cup of Peshawarikahwa– was a treat from a humble vendor ofchappal kebabs, who couldn’t contain his excitement when he found out I was Indian. “I’ve always wanted to go to India! You have to let us show you our hospitality!” he said, and served us a complementary kebab along withkahwa.

I’m still no fan of any kind of tea, but that cup definitely left me warm inside.

And Indians?

So what answer did I have to the one question that so many hospitable Pakistanis in Isloo, as they call Islamabad, asked of me so eagerly, both in and outside the conference?

The question would typically come after heartfelt conversations about India, Pakistan, Kashmir and the politics that separates us: “We really love Indians – after all, we’re basically the same people. Do Indians feel the same way about us?”

Often, my response was a bright “We do!”, but was that really true? Was I speaking for most Indians or just a minority of sickular liberals like me? Every time I faced that question, my guilt-ridden mind would think of the many "go back to Pakistan" exhortations Indian Muslims have often faced, and the casual "are you meeting terrorists?" jokes that so many of my own friends had cracked when I got my visa for Pakistan.

The next time I cross the border ‒ Karachi and Lahore are on my bucket list ‒ I hope to have a more honest response to that question. I want that response to be, “Of course we love you too!”

Scroll.in - News. Politics. Culture.

@jamahir @levina @WAJsal @The_Showstopper @takeiteasy @rockstar08 @haviZsultan @friendly_troll96 @Armstrong@

Scroll.in is absolute leftist propaganda tool mostly publishing things against India or in name of #AmanKiAsha.

 

[Swaha]

If Pakistan can stop its proxy war on India, we'll think about it for sure.

 

[mujhaidind]

@haviZsultan I had great respect for you. But reading your posts, I feel that your more proud to be a Pakistani than a Muslim. Infact you are no different than the Pakistani nationalist mods in here who banned me

 

[haviZsultan]

@haviZsultan I had great respect for you. But reading your posts, I feel that your more proud to be a Pakistani than a Muslim. Infact you are no different than the Pakistani nationalist mods in here who banned me

What did I do? I already said I consider myself in many ways Lucknowi. What more do you want? Me to support fanaticism? I am proud to be a muslim, but that does not make me hate anyone. Also i do not believe in a united India.

When my parents were suffering problems in Lucknow Pakistan gave them a home and a place to escape to. My grandfather from my mothers side always supported Pakistan. I think the best option for muslims left there is not to give up faith in Pakistan. 1, it is a muslim country, 2 it is the only place we can escape to if we face oppression by the indian hindutvas. So yes I am proud to be Pakistani.