It is probably a measure of the new tranquility in our relations with Pakistan that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech from the Red Fort had no resounding reference against cross-border terrorism or a re-affirmation that Jammu and Kashmir is integral to India’s nationhood.

For nearly two decades the challenge of Pakistan and the troubles in Jammu and Kashmir have been the staple of prime ministerial speeches from the Red Fort. On Independence Day last year, which came barely weeks after the July train bombings in Mumbai, the PM had to devote a large part of his speech to the threat of terrorism and the political agenda in Jammu and Kashmir.

This time around, the PM chose to focus exclusively on the domestic agenda of education and jobs. Without naming Pakistan, the PM could simply state that “in the prosperity and well-being of our neighbours lies the key to our own security and progress”. Amidst the current charged political debate over the nuclear agreement with the United States, it is all too easy to forget that a non-violent relationship with Pakistan is a rare political luxury for the nation. Or the fact that US President George W. Bush has made it a lot easier for India to deepen the bilateral engagement with Pakistan without the fear of third party intervention.

Through the eight years of the Clinton Administration, all that New Delhi heard from the US was relentless lecturing on Kashmir. Can you recall President Bush hectoring us on J&K? Even once? In the current obsession with the 123 Agreement and the opportunist posturing on India’s nuclear sovereignty by the CPM and the BJP, it is rather tempting to ignore how valuable the transformation of Indo-US relations has been to Indian diplomacy on J&K.

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