Cool. On the same day that uncle Jaswant soothes some nerves, uncle Advani is sure to raise hackles in Islamabad with his little talk about Indo-Pak reunification (as (mis)reported by on the Times Of India’s front page — Advani was only talking about a possible confederation).

Those familiar with the BJP’s Jana Sangh/RSS roots may suspiciously remember that BJP hardliners — Advani included — have classically believed in a Greater India (’akhand Bharat‘) — this includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and even Burma(!), and may look for echoes of that in this pronouncement. While there is little doubt, I think, that ‘akhand Bharat‘ is a concept close to Advani’s heart, the BJP would be far too selfish to push such a measure with any seriousness — forget about international opprobrium, the resulting unification could only drive the BJP’s already stagnant nationwide percentage vote share down (assuming universal suffrage).