So, are the Indians and Pakistanis rejecting the divisions imposed by nation-states and their official nationalisms? Perhaps not. There can be little doubt that the Indians and Pakistanis we have talked to are proud Indians and proud Pakistanis. Rather than reject the model of nation-state, as Ashis Nandy would want them to, they are discovering softer ways of being nations. Or rather, now that they the bloody history of the last 60 years has given them the walls necessary to become neighbours, they can begin to learn how to be decent neighbours.

India’s favourite Pakistani cricketers…

(Top Five)

Wasim Akram 18

Shoaib Akhtar 18

Shahid Afridi 16

Inzamam-ul-Haq 14

Imran Khan 12

Note: All figures in column percentages. Rest named other cricketers.

India’s favourite Pakistani singers…

(Top Five)

Adnan Sami 21

Ghulam Ali 18

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 18

Mehendi Hasan 5

Abida Parveen 5

Note: All figures in column percentages. Rest named other singers

Pakistan’s favourite Indian cricketers…

Sachin Tendulkar 49

Sourav Ganguly 12

Rahul Dravid 11

Virender Sehwag 5

Mahendra Singh Dhoni 4

Pakistan’s favourite Hindi film actors…

Shah Rukh Khan 38

Salman Khan 12

Amitabh Bachchan 12

Ajay Devgan 7

Sanjay Dutt 6

Pakistan’s favourite Hindi film actresses…

Aishwarya Rai 26

Rani Mukherjee 13

Madhuri Dixit 13

... contd.