Bus Bondage

No such single confidence building measure like the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service is individually going to be of much help in normalizing Indo-Pak ties and solving the Kashmir issue. The bus service success, however, is certainly symbolic of the inherent undercurrent of the strong heartfelt cultural bondage that exists between the commoners of the two countries. It can be viewed as one of the stepping stones for the union of the Indian and the Pakistani soul. The wave of such positive measures undertaken at the grasssroot level in the recent past, including, of course, restoration of cricketing ties and wide acceptance of such movies as 'Main Hoon Naa', and 'Veer-Zaara' in both the countries, are promising as far as the quest for obliteration of the animosity between the two countries is concerned. It is encouraging to see that the diplomats and the administrators of the two countries have finally realized the importance of providing platforms to common citizens of the two countries to interact face-to-face with each other, in a bid to know and understand each other better than ever before. That will allow India and Pakistan to stand strong in unison.