Version imprimableby Tridivesh Singh Maini
31 July 2022
Several recent incidents highlight the strong yearning of ordinary Indians and Pakistanis to interact more frequently. For one, several members of separated families have been reuniting after decades at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan via the Kartarpur Corridor. We have also seen the rousing welcome given to 90-year-old Reena Chibber Varma from Pune in Pakistan recently. And three pad yatrees (foot pilgrims) also from Pune, currently walking for peace in cities around Pakistan, have had similar experiences in public places.
These developments again bring to the fore the need to ease visa regulations, especially for individuals over the age of 65 as stipulated by the visa agreement 2012 that is yet to be implemented. Many senior citizens want to visit their ancestral homes. Those from divided families want to meet their relatives. And ordinary citizens want to travel and meet each other.
As Pakistan and India commemorate 75 years of Independence and Partition, it is essential to examine the trajectory of the bilateral relationship. Particularly instructive are the years 1947-1965, an interesting phase in people-to-people contact as well as economic linkages. Several commentators have flagged this point. This is underscored by Pallavi Raghavan
