Except for people to people contacts, everything else cultural exchange, sports, trade etc should be conditional on Pakistan giving up its terror strategy. It is time to tell Pakistan that its 'death by thousand cuts' policy will not work, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale

A recent opinion poll amongst the Pakistani youth showed that 70 percent of the young prefer either religion based 'sharia' regime or military rule. In the recent past even the confirmed votaries of friendship with Pakistani seem at loss in dealing with Pakistan.

The last few months saw most of the Confidence Building Measures come unstuck as a series of actions by Pakistan -- beheading of an Indian soldier on the LoC or passing resolution on hanging of conspirator of attack on Parliament -- riled Indian public opinion.

One major reason for this disappointment is that the Indians have never 'really' understood Pakistani mentality. Here is an attempt to trace the origins of secession by provinces of British India that formed to became a new country called Pakistan.

It is wrong to call 1947 events as partition, the right way to see it as a few provinces breaking away from the mother country. What follows is a politically incorrect but truthful account of birth of Pakistan. For the roots of Pakistani attitude lie in the genesis of that country.

March 23 is celebrated every year as 'Pakistan Day' to commemorate the passing of 'Pakistan Resolution' at Lahore in the Muslim League session. It is also the 'Republic Day' for Pakistan as on this very day in 1956; Pakistan became the world's first 'Islamic Republic'.

Paraphrasing a popular saying, like Rome; Pakistan was not built in a day. There is a history of events that led to this outcome in 1947.