The home and the world, in a time of nationalism

Is it no longer acceptable for an honest upstanding Indian to feel at home in Pakistan? After all, tens of millions of us were born in provinces that today comprise Pakistan. At the time, it was the only home we knew. My parents, sisters and many of my cousins were born there. In her nineties, when Mummy said she wanted to go home, it was Lahore she was alluding to, not the farm in Chattarpur where she lived.

- Karan Thapar

Yet last week, when Sam Pitroda innocently said he felt at home in Pakistan, a TV channel attacked him for being unpatriotic. "I've been to Pakistan and I must tell you I felt at home," he said. "I've been to Bangladesh, I've been to Nepal and I feel at home."

Over 15 minutes of a 25-minute news bulletin was devoted to excoriating this innocuous comment. The BJP spokesperson lit into him. The fact Pitroda also feels at home in Nepal and Bangladesh was ignored.

The truth is Pakistan was also "home" for LK Advani. He was born and schooled in Karachi. In 2005, when Khurshid Kasuri, then foreign minister of Pakistan, invited Advani to visit, I was asked to convey his response. Happily, he said, and I'd like to bring my family. All of them accompanied him.