MARCH 23 evokes three apparently distinct events in different time zones, which are in a curious way linked. The day marks Pakistan’s national day. That’s when Delhi-based journalists would wait for their invitation to the annual reception on the Pakistan High Commission’s sprawling lawns. Indian invitees included politicians, businessmen, outspoken peaceniks, closet warmongers, and the inevitable sleuths. The prevailing temperature of bilateral ties was gauged from the stature of the chief guest of the day. A foreign secretary or minister showing up was a bonus. Else, a nondescript bureaucrat would be ensconced glumly on the main sofa to indicate the trough.

Kashmiri leaders, many of them in jail today, would hold forth on newly punctuated old scripts about the ‘masla-i-Kashmir’. Almost by a rule, the warmest handshake and embrace was reserved by the Pakistani hosts for members — often rival members — of the Hurriyat cluster.

The advent of the Modi era 10 years ago changed much of that. He locked up the Hurriyat leaders and made it a challenge for Indians to visit the Pakistani embassy. Cops in civilian clothes probe identities, jotting down number plates of cars, often hissing warnings against visiting the enemy’s estate.

Fahmida Riaz made a vivid observation in her acerbic take on Indians picking up Pakistan’s bad habits. “Tum bilkul hum jaise nikley”? (You’ve turned out exactly like us, dear bigots?) What is now known as the Modi way of deterring Indians from meeting........

© Dawn