Letter to BS: Laud Sidhu for donning the role of 'an ambassador of peace'

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu (pictured) proved himself to be an Indian worth his salt. He visited Pakistan, participated in Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony, hugged fellow participants and made a pitch for peace between India and Pakistan. He did well to be himself and refused to cave in to hyper-nationalist noises. We must laud Sidhu for donning the role of ‘an ambassador of peace’ when the Indo-Pak relations are under strain.

Sidhu is a free citizen in a democratic country and cannot be labelled “anti-national’’ just for making a case for an improvement in Indo-Pak relations. Sidhu was right in questioning some critics for their double standards – glorifying the visits of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pakistan and denigrating him for emulating their goodwill gesture. 

Significantly, Sidhu’s gesture coincided with Modi’s letter to his Pakistani counterpart expressing a commitment to build good neighbourly relations and pursue meaningful and constructive engagement. Our only appeal is that the government should make earnest efforts to resume the stalled bilateral dialogue for the normalisation of relations with Pakistan. There is no need to cry foul over hugging a friend or an adversary or any member of our species.

G David Milton  Maruthancode

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