Afghans Love India

[Guest guest]

`Hindustan dost, Pak Dushman'

>From K Subrahmanya 

DH News Service

KHWAJA BAHAUDDIN (Afghanistan), Oct 24 

 

Entering into Afghanistan with an Indian passport can bestow

some special privileges. Even in these days of extreme

hardships, caused by unending wars and vagaries of nature,

Afghans smile when they come across Indians on their land. 

Nearly a dozen Indian scribes, who entered the Afghan land over

the last few weeks would recount any number of instances of

privileges they enjoyed while being in the country. 

The first thing ordinary Afghans would tell a "Hindustani" to

identify themselves with him is, "Hindustan dost, Pakistan

dushman." That is not surprising. For one, the areas the scribes

all over the world are able to visit are those held by the Northern

Alliance. The Alliance and the people in the areas controlled by it

are the one to suffer worse from Pakistan's all pervasive support

to the Taliban in the last few years. 

If some Alliance sympathisers, who have fled from the

Taliban-held areas to northern Afghanistan are to be believed,

there is a lot of resentment and anger against Pakistan even in

the Taliban land. They blame Pakistan as much as they blame

the Taliban as they suffered the latter's harsh ways of rule. 

The perceived common enemy in Pakistan and Taliban is only

one facet of the Afghans' liking for Indians. 

Indian cinema is perhaps a more enduring and dominant factor.

The films and cinema songs are immensely popular.

Unfortunately, Afghans have several years to catch up with latest

on the Indian screen. 

Afghans still live in the Dharmendra-Hemamalini-Amitabh

Bachhan era. That is not surprising. They have been virtually cut

off from the rest of the world because of war that engulfed them

over two decades ago. A few though would reel out the present

generation cine stars like Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Aamir

Khan, Madhuri Dikshit and others. Some would even demand to

get the telephone numbers of these Bollywood starts to today

and yesteryears, just in case they get an opportunity to dial the

numbers. Of course, that is difficult in today's Afghanistan as

there are hardly any telecommunication system working in the

country. 

Many an Indian scribes had to regret that they were not carrying

Indian audio cassettes as any one coming across and

conversing with them for some time would ask for them. Worse

still, they would ask the scribes to sing for them the latest

numbers. They can be unmindful of other things when this topic

is discussed. That is what happened with an Alliance soldier on

his frontline post. He just did not bother about a blind firing from

across the Taliban post as he kept himself engaged in updating

his Bollywood information! 

The privilege begins to unfold as soon as one encounters the

Northern Alliance Immigration and Customs post at Tajik-Afghan

border crossing at A-i-Kanom. It doesn't take for the official there

to clear an Indian. All that he asks in the broken Hindustani

language is, "Hindustan se Hei?" Many western journalists have

had totally different experiences to narrate.

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