Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India and Pakistan should follow the example set by US and Japan' that was published in Newsband

India and Pakistan should follow the example set by US and Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, through his visit to Pearl Harbour recently, and U.S. President Barack Obama, with his homage at the peace memorial at Hiroshima earlier in May, on behalf of their peoples, 70 years after atrocities committed against each other during World War II, was an example for countries like India and Pakistan which always display warring attitude towards one another.

The slaughter of hundreds of U.S. marines at Pearl Harbour in 1941 by Japanese led to the twin nuclear bombings by US. The horror in Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the war to a close sooner than it might otherwise have been. The dropping of the atom bomb was a calculated demonstration of U.S. and western military superiority in a Cold War scenario.

But both Messrs Abe and Obama displayed a statesmanlike readiness to let bygones be bygones. Prime Minister Abe and President Obama have shown how history can be revisited in a realistic manner.

Post World War II, U.S. has helped Japan a lot to recover from the devastation and to become a developed state. Both nations have forgotten the past animosity and started the new chapter of friendship from then. Now they are good allies and both nations paying homage to each other's bad deeds is not conspicuous.

This is how the countries put their bitter past behind and move forward. We have a lesson or two from this. But it is unlikely that we would learn anything from this example. In the Indian sub continent, the solution seems to lie with the people and not with the rulers.

History is being moulded by powerful people. Trump wants Japan invest in weapons which may help the defence arms industry of the US. Japan too has its expansion designs. That is why, even after Obama failing to console nuclear war victims, Japanese government has not reacted very sharply nor the relations strained. Only the common people hit by twin bombs were left without consoling and cajoling. People are the worst suffers of rulers policies.

The Second World War broke out after 25 years of the first one. The world has been free of such a holocaust for over 75 years. May be in a way uneasy peace prevails.

The gestures displayed by both US and Japan are good for both the nations who feel now for the past. It will make both the nations to come closer and make mutual goodwill between the past warriors. Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Pearl Harbour are the historical evidences for the mishappenings on war ego to prove military power. But both the countries are now slowly forgetting the painful events and coming closer both for economical and geo political prosperity.

The premier of Japan and the president of USA have radiated nobility, while in office, and they deserve praise. They have proved that the wounds created by the leaders of the past, should be healed for establishing peace. This will serve as a lesson to those leaders, who stiil believes that ENEMIES CANNOT BECOME FRIENDS. Let’s hope that India and Pakistan too follows the same path as US and Japan.