Blame it on Nehru. If it had not been for him, India (Undivided) would comprise Pakistan, Azad Kashmir and Bangladesh, though regrettably still not Sri Lanka (Galle and Kandulama are so beautiful!). Now why couldn’t the man have just made Jinnah the PM, who would have been gone soon enough, anyway? Nehru would have been back in the saddle and the rest of history would have unwound as it did, except:

(1) We would have won more hockey matches.

(2) Our cricket and football teams would be stronger.

(3) Our movie stars would be taller and better looking and Imran Khan would be ours.

(4) Indians (U) would no longer feel compelled to cheer cricket teams on the basis of religion.

(5) The delights of Lahore would still be available to the average Punjabi.

(6) We would not have the absurd feet stomping, yelling, in-your-face antics between border guards, every day at Attari.

(7) The refined Dilli culture would not have been overwhelmed by exuberant Punjabi refugees.

(8) Bengali would have been a dominant Indian language spoken by 15% and Urdu would never have declined and be spoken by more than 25% of U-Indians.

(9) India (U)’s river water potential would have been better harnessed.

(10) Hydro power would still be a major energy source.

(11) Cheap gas piped from Turkmenistan would fuel household energy needs, industry and electricity in the North.

(12) Our forest cover ratio would be much worse but our freshwater availability would increase significantly.

(13) The Soviets would still be there in Afghanistan because we would never have given the US a toehold in Karachi, the Panjab or the NW Frontier areas.

(14) The Taliban would never have been born, nor would have Bhindranwale.

(15) India (U) would not be a favourite tourist destination for Israeli backpackers.

(16) We would still get cheap Sardas (a juicy, sugary sweet Afghanistan/NW Frontier melon) and exquisite dry fruit.

(17) We would still have to deal with ‘Afghani’ moneylenders and their wayward ways of dealing with defaulters rather than having them live here as pliant refugees.

(18) We would be able to visit Kashmir without bulletproof vests and enjoy its cuisine and natural beauty.

(19) Kashmiris would still opt for business, horticulture, hospitality, handicrafts, poetry and cricket rather than AK-47s and football.

(20) North and east India (U) would have remained competitive versus the west and the south with easy access to the sea via Karachi; undiluted Punjabi prowess in agriculture; Sindhi excellence in trade; and Bengali competitiveness in ‘kolture’, arts, law and the social sciences.

(21) We would have fathered microcredit and Muhammad Yunus would be ours.

(22) With one-third of the electorate and dominance in the north, Muslims would no longer feel like a minority.

(23) Under competition from a significant Islamic presence, Hinduism would have tended to consolidate, rather than splinter along caste cleavages, as it has today.

(24) The BJP would have been a dominant party of the right from the 1950s and Zardari and Sheikh Hasina would have been its Muslim leaders today instead of Shahnawaz Hussain.

(25) Nawaz Sharif and Khaleeda Zia would be the Muslim leaders of the Congress party, rather than Khurshid, Kidwai and Rasheed Alvi.

(26) We would not spend 20% of our fiscal resources on the army.

(27) It is unlikely that Sikkim would ever have resolved to join the republic, just as Nepal’s main regret is that it borders a tumultuous India, rather than a placid Sweden.

(28) China would be even more worried and hence more of an existential threat.

(29) The US would have been become friendlier much earlier.

(30) Najeeb Jung would still be Lt. Governor of Delhi. This article first appeared on the author's blog as http://ahlu-india.com/