Friday December 25, 2015, Christmas Day, will long be remembered as a remarkable day of diplomatic development. A vast majority of journalists, political analysts and others may have planned a relaxed day to enjoy the festivities of the season. Not one, within and outside the political establishment, could have envisaged the delivery of a diplomatic coup by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His spontaneous decision to "drop by" Lahore (enroute from Kabul to Delhi) to extend courtesies in person to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his birthday set imagination and diplomacy to fire. It also breathed some positive energy into the stormy template of Indo-Pak relations.
The political moment mirrored the warmth of the winter sun when Prime Ministers Modi and Sharif hugged each other on Pakistani soil and walked hand in hand on the red carpet laid out for the event. Symbolism mattered, for estranged at birth, the relations between both nations have been more fraught than at ease. Such moments are few and far apart between the two neighbours. Over the past seven decades, suspicion and animosity more often have won the battle over amity and peace.
Which is why such initiatives, spontaneous and innovative, deserve celebration instead of mindless criticism. These can rekindle hope, no matter how momentary, instead of the obvious despair. Both Prime Minister Modi and Nawaz Sharif have with equal grace seized upon every opportunity presented thus far.
The cynics deride this unplanned visit to Lahore as a spectacle of little consequence. Their criticism is rooted in the past patterns of Indo-Pak relations. From cross border terrorism to ceasefire violations, there are many areas of conflict that often drive both nations dangerously, even close to the brink of war. A constant sense of deja vu permeates each time talks progress, only to have another ceasefire violation or terrorist incident occur. We articulate this concern and Pakistan seeks to drive the centrality of Kashmir to the negotiation table. Talks at various levels between both nations have often delivered little more than assurances that haven't been kept. Deadlock is routinely achieved and breakthroughs are both rare and short-lived. But does that mean efforts to seek peace should be permanently discarded?
Another criticism is that this visit lacked planning and hence no outcome can be achieved. Again the critics completely miss the woods for the trees. They under-estimate the role that personal equations between leaders play which often drive things ahead. For those willing to see, a pattern is obvious in how both leaders are personally driving the effort to improve relations, despite known risks. Events clearly confirm this.
The ball was first set rolling when Mr Modi extended an invitation to leaders of the region to attend his oath-taking ceremony in May 2014. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responded by attending, ignoring domestic political risk at home. A short meeting the next day followed between the two leaders.
Within months, however, the proposed path to improving relations was blown to smithereens with ceasefire violations on the LoC. Incursions and terrorist attacks on this side of the border raised tensions between both countries. The SAARC Summit in Kathmandu officially brought little beyond a parting handshake between the premiers as they were returning home.
Yet both leaders kept up the effort to keep a line of conversation going between them. By mid-2015, Mr Modi and Mr Sharif had spoken on the phone at least once every month over the issue of evacuation from Yemen, Nepal's horrific earthquake; they exchanged greetings on Ramzan. In between, a box of sweet Pakistani mangoes sent by Mr. Sharif to Mr. Modi was a gesture to tone down some of the negativity that routinely exists.
This in turn set the stage for a meeting in July at Ufa on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. In Ufa, the two leaders met face-to-face for the first time since the SAARC Summit in November 2014. A statement was issued that focused on terror and talks between the National Security Advisors of both countries were scheduled thereafter. The talks fell through and deadlock returned over the red line of Pakistan seeking to drag Kashmir in and involve the Hurriyat once again. Contact between the nations and two leaders seemed indefinitely paused.
However, on November 20th, a brief "pull-aside meeting" directly between the two Prime Ministers (in the absence of any officials or aides) in the lobby at the climate change conference in Paris brought things back on track. Within days, on December 6, the National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan held a meeting in Bangkok and discussed a range of issues. This meeting was the direct outcome of the Paris meeting.
Immediately thereafter, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj traveled to Pakistan to attend the "Heart of Asia Summit" and also met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. At the conference, she pushed for Pakistan to allow the transit of goods from Afghanistan to India through its territory and added that "the heart of Asia cannot function if its arteries are clogged."
That arteries were being unclogged was in full display on December 25 when Prime Minister Modi made the sudden visit to Lahore. The Foreign Secretaries of both countries are now expected to meet in January 2016.
No part of this implies that the past or our concerns have been ignored and discarded. It only affirms that despite their existence, efforts need to be made whenever and wherever possible, to try and normalize the relationship between two fraught neighbours. Undoubtedly the past, as well as other forces out to create impediments in this process, make any outcome uncertain. But the goalpost has to be constant - seeking to achieve permanent peace in the neighbourhood. Which is what both leaders are attempting.
In the meanwhile, here's a thought for those who stand to criticize this visit - in the words of inspirational author and founder of SUCCESS magazine (in 1897) Orison Swett Marden - "Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them."
(Nalin S Kohli is spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Director of the party's Public Policy Research Centre. He is also an advocate and has extensive experience in media and education.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.