Imagine two kids in the same class of an elite school. Both kids come from poor backgrounds and are among the bottom rankers. Both fail often, but the first kid scores a few marks more than the second. The first kid feels good about this — at least he is doing better than the other one. The second kid hates himself, but lives for the occasional moment when he scores more than the first. They are both losers, but are happy to compare themselves with each other and somehow feel better.However, things change over time. The first student gets better in studies. He even reaches the top 10 in class. Meanwhile, the second student gets worse in academics. The second student also joins a gang of bullies and starts taking drugs.One day, realisation dawns on the first student. He no longer wants to compare himself with this second student. The second student, whom he revelled in beating once, now disgusts him. The first student now only wants to emulate toppers.In the analogy above, the first student is India; the second is Pakistan. Ever since Independence, we have loved to compare ourselves with Pakistan. It helped us deal with our third-world status in the world. At least we were better than Pakistan. We took Pakistan seriously. Even as Pakistan never really built itself into a real country (it had a military coup a decade after Independence, and then split up into two pieces a decade after), we legitimized it. Pakistan was a failed state to begin with, but India needed it around. It helped our politics: “At least we are better off than Pakistan” is a rhetoric that worked for Indians for a long time.And then, something snapped. The Uri attack became the proverbial last straw, and India grew up overnight. We finally realized our self-worth. We understood that comparing ourselves to a student who comes last in class and is a certified bully is just not worth it.India is today the fastest-growing economy in the world. We have a functioning capital market, legal system, skilled labour force, large consumer base and democracy. We would be stupid to not focus on that. Keeping the idea of Pakistan alive just to feel better about ourselves doesn’t make sense anymore.Pakistan was doomed from the start — a haphazard creation of a belligerent Muslim leader who preyed on the fears of the Muslim population. The British, hurt after WWII and in a hurry to leave, couldn’t care less. Pakistan was created with one main thought — fear of India’s Hindus . It was essentially a giant refugee camp born out of irrational fear. Of course, such a setup was unlikely to create a strong country. It never did. Also, since Pakistan was carved out in a hurry, they never had the central structures like India did (such as IAS, IPS, etc) to run the country. Adding to its misfortune, the founder died within a year of its creation, leaving behind a leadership void and chaos. The army eventually took over, and things became worse — and have been ever since.Indians might say we never liked Pakistan. However, India legitimized it the most, by inviting regime after regime for talks. Making things worse was our politics. It is still believed in some circles that India’s Muslim vote bank does not want India to act tough against Pakistan. So Indian leaders wooed Pakistan, in a bid to woo the Muslim vote bank at home.But it has all changed with the Uri attack, the tipping point. Indians — Hindus, Muslims or otherwise — no longer feel sympathy for Pakistan. In fact, they feel disgust. Which country kills innocent people of other countries on a routine basis? Only Pakistan. No Indian today wants to be associated with it. And this is a major step in the growth of our national self-esteem. It is no longer defined in the context of Pakistan. That is setting our standard so low, it is almost an insult.India’s lack of dependence on Pakistan will hurt the latter most. For India is no longer interested in legitimizing Pakistan. This will mean faster disintegration of that country, barring a rare scenario where Pakistan’s regime and its radical elements, both turn over a new leaf. One feels bad for sane Pakistanis. In a land ruled by guns, they are powerless. Maybe the need of the hour there is the rise of a pro-India party. It may be against Pakistan’s DNA, but might be exactly what the doctor ordered.However, the chances of Pakistan fixing itself are rather remote. And if it doesn’t, the country could end up having to split again. It seems Pakistan’s karmic curse, where they caused a great nation to split once, is never going leave them.We, on the other hand, should congratulate ourselves as a nation. Not just for standing up to Pakistan or for the surgical strikes, but for finally growing up as a nation and realizing our own value.