UPSC Mains 2015 GS Paper 2 Q20: model answer

In February 1987, with troops massing on the border during Operation Brasstacks, General Zia-ul-Haq flew to Jaipur to watch a cricket Test. Tensions eased within weeks. 'Cricket diplomacy' entered South Asian vocabulary, and the question is how much such gestures can really carry.

Examples of soft power

• Cricket: India's 2004 tour of Pakistan, when Indian fans were welcomed in Lahore; the Prime Ministers watching the 2011 World Cup semi-final together at Mohali.
• Religious pilgrimages: the Kartarpur Corridor (2019) for Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.
• Culture: Pakistani musicians and actors in Indian films; Sufi music; shared language and poetry.
• Bus and train links: the Delhi–Lahore bus (1999), the Samjhauta Express.
• People-to-people: student exchanges, medical visas for Pakistani patients.

What it achieved

• Humanised the 'other' and created constituencies for peace.
• Opened doors to dialogue, as before the Lahore Declaration (1999).

Limits

• Terrorism resets everything: after Mumbai (2008), Uri (2016), Pulwama (2019) and Pahalgam (2025), contact was cut, artists were barred and bilateral cricket stopped.
• Military and security establishments, not public mood, drive Pakistan's India policy.
• Visas are restricted, so contact stays thin.
• Soft power can be cancelled overnight by one attack.

Conclusion

Soft power can generate goodwill but cannot create trust while terrorism continues. It works best as a bridge after hard issues are addressed: an end to cross-border terror first, then the stadium and the corridor.