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Waiting for the curtain to lift

Indo-Pak Relations

Fifty years Retrospective

- A Photo Feature

The Partition of India was a political and a geographical division that turned traumatic for millions of families. Some will not let go of the bitter memories, others have chosen to move on in life and let bygones be bygones. The people have moved on but the two Governments have not. It may have been a different story had Jinnah and Liaqat Ali survived longer to steer Pakistan through its early difficulties. Jinnah could have given the nation a sense of identity and a perspective that the subsequent leaders were unable to. In India, Mahatma Gandhi's assassination had a similar effect - the nation was deprived of a balanced leader. Within a couple of years of the Partition, Nehru was the lone survivor of the quartet that could have brought and restored a sense of balance in the region. However, history is not based on retrospective wishes. Personal rapport between leaders and senior bureaucrats on either side was never a problem - the spirit of camaraderie and bonhomie between them was never at a low. They had the ability to sit together and share a joke and , more importantly, speak in a language that both understood - a language rich in vocabulary of shared history. These photographs document the effort in the past five decades made by both the Governments. It is a record of political stalemates but personal successes.

Our gratitude is due to all the sources of these photographs - we have credited them individually (where the source was known) in the 'Picture Property' field. 

1950s

L-R: President Rajendra Prasad of India with PM Liaqat Ali of Pakistan, 1950;Nehru, Prasad and Liaqat Ali, Delhi 1950; sharing a laugh - Pakistan's High Commissioner to India, Dr Frank Graham,President Prasad, and PM Nehru 14 Aug Delhi 1951;Pakistan's HC Ghazanfar Ali Khan with PM Nehru and the Yugoslav Ambassador to India, Delhi 23 March 1956

1960s

 
L-R: Ayub and Nehru signing the Indus Water Treaty in Karachi 1960; Nehru and Ayub-relaxed moments in Karachi 1960; Foreign Ministers Bhutto and Swaran Singh, 1963;Ayub and Shastri in Tashkent Jan 1966

1970s

The 1972 Simla Accord L-R:Gandhi welcoming Bhutto in Simla;strolling on the grounds of Raj Bhavan in Simla;Swaran Singh with benazir Bhutto who had accompanied her father to Simla; Gandhi and Bhutto signing the Simla Agreement

L-R: Pakistan's Gen Tikka Khan welcomes Indian Gen Maneckshaw in Lahore 1972; India's Special Envoy PN Haksar and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Aziz share a light moment in Delhi, 1973

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