India Q&A, “How should India and Pakistan work together for a better south Asia?”

Abhishek Thakore, 31, Social Entrepreneur, Founder of South Asian Youth Conference, Mumbai: A majority of Indians and Pakistanis long for a deeper connection. Our leaders, therefore, need to see the benefit of alignment, and the immense potential that we can collectively have. Our expensive defense spends can be redirected toward collective development, to foster greater trade and deeper cultural ties. If the most strained relationship in South Asia becomes better, we will naturally move toward being a strong region. But I wonder if our governments are serious about being friends, as the tensed relations often benefit various stakeholders and unfortunately becomes a way of generating the so called “patriotism”— hence, our history of conflicts.

The violent partition of British India led to the formation of India and Pakistan in 1947. Since then the bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries have been strained by a number of historical and political issues. Even though the two nations share cultural, geographical, and economical links, their relationship has been plagued by hostility and suspicion, which often which results in military conflicts. This is what Epoch Times reporters from India discovered when they asked locals,

“How should India and Pakistan work together for a better south Asia?”

Look for the India Q&A column every week. Epoch Times India reporters interview people around the country to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global issues.