India, May 11 -- I must begin with a confession: I am no expert on diplomacy or the Middle East. What follows is essentially the view of a layman who has, directly or indirectly, lived close to government planning for nearly half a century. Yet that distance from academic expertise perhaps also allows the luxury of some out-of-the-box thinking on why governments and people of Punjab must stop viewing developments in West Asia as something happening on another planet.

In fact, if we cared enough, we should already be breathing easier over some recent developments. Though the danger of a sudden flare-up still looms, diplomacy appears to have regained quiet momentum. Tones have softened, arc lights dimmed and microphones lowered. That gives...