Summit atmospherics

Lahore and Kargil still fresh in popular memory, disinterest seems to have been the dominant mood as Musharraf the military man went about his engagements.

PURNIMA S. TRIPATHI in Agra and New Delhi

PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf's visit to India was meant to be history in the making. The drama that preceded his arrival did not dissipate the excitement in the capital. New Delhi wore a festive look - the main thoroughfares through which his cavalcade was to pass were freshly painted, the roads were lined with potted plants, and the flags of the two countries fluttered everywhere. Nature too seemed to be celebrating the historic event. There was a light shower accompanied by a cool breeze, bringing the temperatures down substantially.

When the General arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the ceremonial reception, in a cream-coloured sherwaani and achkan, the people of India anticipated a repeat of the welcome at the Wagah border, the warm hug that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharief exchanged. But this occasion turned out to be different. There was a slight awkwardness in the movements, there was too much formality. The hand that General Musharraf extended to President K.R. Narayanan had the firmness of a soldier; it lacked the warmth that Nawaz Sharief had conveyed to Vajpayee. Vajpayee too, on his part, stopped with a handshake.

The reception too had some firsts to its credit. For the first time, Pakistan's national anthem was played on Rashtrapati Bhavan premises, after the General inspected the guard of honour, because it was the first-ever visit by a Pakistan President to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This was followed by a visit to Raj Ghat, the first by a Pakistani leader. And, as the man whom Indians best remember for the Kargil intrusion, saluted and offered floral tributes to the Father of the Nation, the bitter memories of Partition and three wars seemed temporarily forgotten.

Interestingly, there was a lot of discussion about how he went about meeting Indian leaders. People were heard saying that his body language was still that of the military leader, not that of a political leader, espeically when he was inspecting the guard of honour. The rigidity in his demeanour was too obvious until he reached his ancestral home at Naharwali Haveli in the Daryaganj locality of Delhi. Here he appeared to be nostalgic, and it was as if he was looking for traces of the past. During his meeting with his childhood maid, Anaro Begum, one had a glimpse of a heart that was full of emotions. He affectionately hugged Anaro and asked her: Amma, shanti ke liye dua karo (Amma, pray for peace).

IT was perhaps the burden of history that was weighing down on Begum Sehba Musharraf during her first public appearance in India. At an interactive session organised by the Women's Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA), activists of the organisation, from both Pakistan and India, were effusive in their entreaties for peace and friendship between the two countries. Begum Musharraf, however, remained non-committal, not even mentioning the word peace. When journalists persisted with their questions, she burst out, saying: Aman ki baat pooch kar meri jaan mat lijiye (please do not make my life difficult by asking about peace).

The lunch hosted by President Narayanan in honour of General Musharraf, and the "high tea" hosted by the Pakistan High Commissioner turned out to be important events. While the lunch was noted for the distinguished gathering, the tea party hogged the limelight because of the invitation extended to leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, which became controversial. The Bharatiya Janata Party and other constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) boycotted the tea, but the People's Front was well-represented. The Congress(I) had a token representation. There was a stampede at the party, with people literally falling over one another. At one point Begum Musharraf was escorted out as she was jostled around in the crowd.

AGRA, the Summit venue, was a different scene altogether. The bonhomie witnessed in Delhi was missing. The city was cleaned to a sparkle, road dividers were freshly painted, pot-holed roads were repaired and there was tight security at every nook and corner. The massive deployment of security forces gave the town a curfew-like look, with roads deserted, people forced to stay indoors and shops ordered closed. Here too popular expectations were high, but a pall of cynical scepticism hung above them. Humko unse wafa ki hai ummid, jo jaante nahin wafa kya hai (we are expecting loyalty from someone who does not know the meaning of the word)," summed up the public mood.

The people found it difficult to believe that the General who masterminded the Kargil War could actually be talking about peace and friendship. "Somebody who was busy plotting against India even as his political master (Nawaz Sharief) was hugging the Prime Minister of India, can he ever be trusted?" was the common refrain. They refused to be impressed by the optimism exuded by the General on Day One in Delhi.

The visit, despite the media hype, was described by many people as an "exercise in image building" which the General was undertaking to gain greater acceptability in Pakistan for his new role as President.

"This is a sheer waste of resources. Over Rs.1 crore has been spent on the preparations for the summit meeting but nothing is going to come out of it," said an Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board employee, standing by the road, watching security personnel walk past on the deserted road.

The scepticism was all the more pronounced in people from the lower rungs of society. The fact that the high-powered visit derailed normal life upset many. Agra had turned into a ghost city, with only security personnel or media people on the roads. The security personnel did not allow anyone to venture out in areas either falling on the route of the dignitaries or near the two hotels, Amar Vilas Palace and Jaypee Palace respectively, where Musharraf and Vajpayee were staying. The area around the Taj, which witnesses brisk business on a normal day, wore a deserted look too.

It was as if the city knew it all beforehand. Even before Musharraf hardened his posture on the second day of the Summit, a sense of deja vu was evident in Agra. "After all, the same excitement was witnessed at the time of Vajpayeeji's Lahore yatra too. But what happened? The Kargil War. How can we trust the man who planned Kargil?" said a shopkeeper selling the famous Panchhiwala petha (a trademark sweet of Agra) in the city's main market, Sadar Bazaar. Standing near him was Aley Nabi, an elderly rickshaw-puller, who had been deprived of his daily earnings by the security arrangements. For Aley Nabi and many others like him, peace and friendship between the two countries sounded too good to be true.

WHILE the General argued his case with the Indian Prime Minister, Begum Musharraf prayed at the shrine of Sheikh Salim Chisti at Fatehpur Sikri, near Agra, for the fulfilment of her husband's mission.

The Musharrafs' visit to the Taj Mahal, however, was more relaxed. The General was struck by the beauty and grandeur of the monument of love, and he used expressions such as "exquisite" and "unique" to describe it. The Begum described it as "exhilerating". The General was also heard saying that he wished he could stay longer to look at the Taj.

In Delhi, the Raj Ghat witnessed a confrontation between the security personnel and Shiv Sena activists when the latter tried to purify the place with Ganga jal (water), saying that it had been rendered impure by the General's visit. Dozens of Shiv Sainiks were beaten up by the police. And, at Naherwali Haveli, construction workers were busy rebuilding a house that was demolished before the visit, for security reasons. The house belonged to two youngsters.