In the din of an election rally close to the Pakistan border, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee Friday sent out a message that could help usher peace in the South Asian subcontinent -- and relieve concerned world leaders.
They can finally heave a collective sigh of relief. India has said it won't go to war with Pakistan.
"I don't think we will fight ever again. This peace will be permanent," Vajpayee said at his Bharatiya Janata Party election rally at India's northern city Amritsar, 25 miles from Pakistan border.
"And the friendship will last," Vajpayee added after his trademark pause.
Vajpayee's message was loud and clear -- to the people of India and the establishment in Pakistan -- that New Delhi meant business in establishing peaceful relations with its neighbors.
"I hope we don't miss this opportunity and this will be permanent peace," he said referring to the resumption of peace talks between the two neighbors.
"It is in the interest of both the countries that this friendship lasts," Vajpayee said at the rally attended by nearly 10,000 people.
The Indian premier, who has been hailed in the past for initiating talks with Pakistan, said that both countries have not gained anything in the previous three wars.
"I have asked Pakistan many a time: ... What have the wars gained you? Rather you lost Bangladesh," he said in a bitter reminder to Pakistan on Friday, the 34th independence anniversary of Bangladesh, which broke away from Pakistan in a nine-month war backed by India.
It was not long ago that India and Pakistan had positioned nearly a million troops on both sides of the border following a raid by militants on Indian Parliament that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad-backed Islamist rebels.
Fearing that the fourth war between arch rivals could turn nuclear, a concerned Western world led by the United States counseled the two nations. Washington played the role of a peace broker, cooling the tempers on either side of the border.
The two nations have fought three wars the 57 years since independence, of which two have been over Kashmir, the most contentious issue.
"If you (Pakistan) make claims on Kashmir, even then we have no other way but to hold talks. Let's talk about Kashmir and settle that," Vajpayee said in a message to Pakistani government.
Vajpayee was joined in the rally by his deputy Lal Krishan Advani, known for his hard-line stand against Islamabad.
Advani wound up a 16-day, 2,480-mile trip in a mini-bus crisscrossing 73 of the 543 constituencies that are due to go polls beginning April 20.
Both leaders wore traditional Sikh turbans to the delight of locals.
"Did anyone ever imagine that we would play cricket with Pakistan in this atmosphere," the Indian premier asked the audience still charged up after Wednesday's historic win against Pakistan in cricket at Lahore.
"Where bullets used to fly, now we're playing cricket there," Vajpayee said amid cheering of slogans.
Vajpayee, a cricket buff himself, played a big political gamble a few weeks ago when he OK'd travel for the Indian cricket team to Pakistan, the first in 15 years. Political analysts say that the recent win in the cricket series against Pakistan will bolster Vajpayee's chances to retain power. India's cricket-mad people are still celebrating the historic win over Pakistan.
Although it was the 11 players who won the Samsung Cup in Lahore, the credit is being given to Vajpayee for sending the team despite a possible threat from Islamist rebels.
It might be seen as an election stunt to woo voters, but Vajpayee faithfully called the team after each of their three wins. Opposition party leaders followed the suit.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said during his recent visit to South Asia that cricket could bring India and Pakistan closer to each other.
Vajpayee told India's cricket team members to win matches in Pakistan and the hearts of people -- an art that Vajpayee himself is quite adept at.
He is by far the most loved Indian premier in Pakistan. Despite belonging to a Hindu nationalist party, which has been often blamed for anti-Muslim violence in India, Vajpayee's popularity is at a peak in Pakistan.
A delegation of Pakistani scholars on a tour to India said people of Pakistan find Vajpayee to be a man with open ideas and an open heart. He has twice take the initiative to bring Pakistan to the negotiations' table.
Vajpayee's tenure as prime minister has seen some of the worst and best of times with Pakistan. It was Vajpayee's term that saw two nations blasting nuclear tests, the exchange of regular fire along Kashmir's border, two failed summits, almost a fourth war and now India's cricket tour.
If Vajpayee retains the power in the upcoming elections, as predicted by opinion polls, the peace process with Pakistan could further ahead.
For now, the world should be relieved. India and Pakistan have stopped pointing their guns and want to end decades of war, mistrust and hostility.
