New Delhi: In his traditional cotton mundu and khadi kurta, 80-year-old Biyyathil Mohyuddin Kutty looks every inch a sprightly Malayalee from Kerala.
The political activist who chose to make Pakistan his home 60 years ago believes that one "cannot know the Pakistanis unless you live there".
Kutty does not let his Kerala sensibility overshadow his Pakistani soul and nationality and likes to call himself a "dyed in the wool Pakistani national".
Kutty, the general secretary of the Pakistan Peace Coalition and former political secretary to the governor of Balochistan, believes that relations between India and Pakistan are poised for a change.
"The recent serial blasts in Mumbai on the eve of the foreign ministers' meeting was a definite attempt to undermine the meeting," he said.
"But the government of India spokesperson came out clearly that unsubstantiated allegations should not be made against Pakistan — and the talks continued. It was a turning point in the India-Pakistan relationship."
Kutty was in the capital to launch his book Sixty Years in Self-Exile: No Regret — A Political Autobiography, last week.
The book has been published by the Pakistan Study Centre (University of Karachi) and Pakistan Labour Trust. The launch was facilitated by the Policy and Planning Group, a social forum promoting cross-border friendship.
Committed socialist
A committed socialist, Kutty arrived in Lahore to work as an assistant at the India Coffee House and then switched to a series of a multinational companies.
But a jail term for alleged trade unionism changed his life.
In 1966, Kutty joined the Trade and Industry Journal as managing editor and later chief editor of Finance and Industry, which later came to be known as the Pakistan Economist.
He rose to become a policymaker in the Balochistan government and later in the Pakistaann Peace Committee, where he is currently campaigning against terror and fundamentalist violence and rallying for convivial ties with India.
A man of stringent principles, Kutty has been involved in drafting labour statutes and policies for the Pakistan government.
"You cannot know the Pakistanis unless you live there. What is important is that today's Pakistanis are as such not an enemy of Indians. They have all sorts of ideas which they have built up over the years — a particular mindset — which can change with more people meeting each other and communicating with each other."
Community excited
The Mahadalits of Bihar, who constitute an overwhelming number among the state's downtrodden, are in a festive mood like never before ahead of India's 65th Independence Day.
Possibly for the first time in independent India, more importantly since the promulgation of a constitution that guarantees equality, the Mahadalits will be hoisting the national flag in their ‘tolas' or community-based settlements. One from their ranks will do so.
According to Census 2011, Dalits constitute nearly 15 per cent of Bihar's 104 million population. The census has identified 21 of the 22 Dalit sub-castes as Mahadalits. They include Musahars, Bhuiyans, Doms, Chamars and Nats.
Deepak Kumar, principal secretary in the state's general administration department, said that it was decided by the government that Independence Day functions would be organised in all such ‘tolas' and an elderly person among them would unfurl the flag.
