In the backdrop of the unfortunate chain of events being seen on the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan, sensitivities run high and tolerance seems diminished on both sides of the border. The latest incident to hint at a lack of goodwill is the vandalism perpetrated by members of the hardline group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal on a cultural event. Some 11 Pakistani artists were exhibiting their work, along with their Indian counterparts, at an art gallery in Ahmedabad when 20 people from these two parties ransacked the exhibition, tearing down the paintings and breaking windows. It appears they were angered at the fact that Pakistani artists were being allowed to show their works when Indian soldiers were being killed on the LoC. The VHP blames Pakistan for the deaths of five Indian soldiers on August 6, 2013. This is clearly an act of extremism and must be abhorred by everyone on both sides of the border who hold the peace negotiations between the two countries necessary. Ever since the August 6 incident, tensions have steadily increased, not just along the LoC but also within certain quarters of the media and, now, in the cultural field. This act of intolerance shows that it is not just Pakistan that has to deal with the likes of Hafiz Saeed, the leader of controversial organisation Jamat-ud-Dawa, who recently ‘promised’ that after the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, militants would refocus their wrath on Kashmir. India, too, has to deal with its fair share of extremists, and they too do not seem like the kind who like to play nice. To vandalise a liberal arts event, which aims to promote nothing but peace and harmony amongst the two neighbours reeks of utter hate and xenophobia. At the same time, the arrest of one of India’s most wanted terrorists, Abdul Karim Tunda, a member of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), on the Indo-Nepal border shows just how deeply entrenched these spoilers of the peace process are. It is such elements that seek nothing less than to completely obliterate the talks and negotiations between the two countries. Their very existence is based on hate and, if dialogue were to prove successful, outfits such as the VHP and LeT would have no leg to stand on. No government should allow itself to be held hostage by such spoilers no matter how difficult and testing the standoff on the LoC gets because that is exactly why such acts and incidents occur so close to the resumption of the dialogue process. The Pakistani government needs to stay alert for the likes of Hafiz Saeed who has also, reportedly, blamed India for Pakistan’s recent floods, calling them an “act of war”. Such sentiments run rife on both sides of the border and need to be quelled before the situation gets out of hand. During the negotiations process, the governments on both sides need to understand that the main point to work on is to prevent the pattern these spoilers have developed of violence, terrorism, threats and skirmishes from continuing. Indian and Pakistani society cannot forego this fragile peace no matter what the occasion and who the perpetrator, whether the VHP or Tunda or Hafiz Saeed. Their vested interests will see the two countries at loggerheads once again as was seen after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which shows just how extreme and violent these hate groups can be. This is the real test of the peace process: moving out of the clutches of these hatemongers. *