Build Bridges, Not Bombs

I was at the Wagah Attari border last year for independence day. I went with relatives ie Dr Sandhu of the Punjab folklore Manch and Mrs Manveen Sandhu Principal of Springdale school, Amritsar who had with them Madeeha of ``Ajuka`` theatre group from Lahore along with a group of children from schools in Pakistan collaborating on a play for peace. The Indian and Pakistani children were preparing a play and perfromed a song from the play, ie`` Aao khelein border border`` at the border that night. As we approached the site of the meet, we could see people lining the road, there were kiosks everywhere selling eatables and various other wares as people cashed in on the event. There was an air of festivity. We soon found out why. There were a number of Punjabi singers performing that night and so the turnout. There were mostly men, some in the true punjabi tradition, inebriated but women and children too. I met Kuldip Nayyar and a family from Pakistan, the Khokhars, the man a politician from Punjab in Pakistan. Sitaram Yechuri of the communist party was there. Dr sandhu described how he had been coming here ever since the meets started. Even in 1999, the year the Kargil conflict occurred, when the Hindi Pak Dosti Manch to which Kuldip Nayyyar belonged backed out , their group decided to go ahead and a band of 500 people held the vigil. I gave a short speech too on how we hoped the Indian and Pakistani govts would resolve the Missing defence persons issue and how most people with my surname were found on the other side of the border indicating our common heritage. Also how I hoped that the Indian govt would look into how innocent Pakistanis languished in Indian jails could also be released. All in all the atmosphere was electric but the security was lax and it was lucky nothing untoward happened. I dont know whether the people came for the music or for the meet but there was peace and harmony. However, that was Wagah and not Kashmir or Gujarat and those are different stories.

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from jang:

No one and nothing else has contributed more to the normalisation of Indo-Pak relations than Noor Fatima, a two years old girl of Karachi. She had a hole in her heart and the nearest hospital that specialised in the treatment of this sort of heart ailments was across the border in the `enemy` country. The Indian government had closed the road, rail and air links between the two countries about a year ago. The parents of Fatima were having anxiety bouts. They could only pray for opening of the links so they could take Fatima to Banglore in India.

Early this month the road link was restored and Fatima and her parents caught the first Delhi-bound bus from Lahore. From there they rushed to Banglore where the hospital `Narayana Hrudayalaya` is situated. The open-heart surgery of Fatima was successful; she is recovering fast and will soon be back home.

The hospital did not charge any fee for the operation and hospitalisation of Fatima. The father of Fatima, Nadim Sajjad, responded to this goodwill gesture by contributing the fee, which amounted to Rs140,000, to a trust that he has proposed to form for the treatment of similarly afflicted Pakistani and Indian children. He has also transferred to the trust Rs100,000 that he had received from the Indian well-wishers of Fatima for meeting the cost of the operation. While Fatima was in the hospital there was a beeline of visitors, children and their parents, to wish her rapid recovery. It was a surreal scene considering that a few months back the armies of India and Pakistan were standing eyeball to eyeball at the borders.

Some Indian philanthropists had established the Narayana Hrudayalaya 13 years ago. It has a facility in Kolkata too. Since its inception its heart care specialists have performed 19,000 major heart surgeries, 8,000 of them on children and newly born. Children suffering from heart ailments come from all over the world. Several Pakistani children have also been treated there, but they all came from affluent families.

This institution was exclusively started for treating patients from lower socio-economic strata. There is no discrimination on account of religion, caste or colour. Those families, from here and other countries, which have children suffering from heart problems but cannot afford expensive heart surgeries can seek its help for free or concessional treatment. Once a patient is accepted for free operation, his or her parents do not have to spend any money at all. The institution provides free hospitalisation for the patient and free accommodation for one parent. The only expense the family has to incur relates to the travel arrangements.

In Pakistan too we need institutions that could provide free medical care to the poor. It is far beyond the means of not only the poor but of working class as well to meet the high cost of heart surgeries, kidney replacement and dialysis. Not very far in the past many Pakistanis with kidney problem had gone to Bombay to get a kidney replaced. Now it is possible to have this complex treatment in Pakistan also. To be certain, the government alone cannot be expected to provide treatment for complex ailments, which is always very expensive. Therefore, the philanthropists and the rich should lend a hand to the poor. Imran Khan has done wonders by establishing the cancer hospital in which the poor get free treatment. Abdul Sattar Edhi has emerged as one of the greatest social worker in the world who has established a vast network for helping the poor and the needy, mostly free of cost or at very reasonable rates.

Since the offer of friendship made by Indian premier Atal Behari Vajpayee, things are moving fast towards Indo-Pak amity. There has been exchange of visits of parliamentarians, traders and businessmen, youth and students, and young journalists. All such delegations were received warmly in both the countries and feted graciously. Early next September a team of the retired and serving judges of the Supreme Court of India would be coming to Pakistan. It amply proves that peoples of both the countries have the strong urge to live in peace and in a good neighbourly atmosphere, free of tension. It also proves that they have rejected the confrontational policies that the governments of the two countries have been following consistently. They have also rejected those leaders who preach extremism and create hatred between the two neighbours.

Currently, Maulana Fazlur Rahman is visiting India along with his 4 colleagues. This team has gone there on the invitation of Maulana Asad Madni, chief of the Jamiat Ulema Hind and son of renowned religious scholar and leader Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madni. Maulana Madni was dubbed a Congress maulvi because he did not subscribe to the Pakistan formula. Many other Muslim leaders, especially from the Punjab and NWFP, had held the similar view. The history has proved them wrong, but it does not mean that they were lesser Muslims than those who were for Pakistan. We had Sir Khizer Hayat Khan Tiwana, prime minister of the undivided Punjab, who to the end remained against Pakistan. Then we had Dr Khan Sahib in the NWFP who was also inimical to Pakistan formula. However, at a later date we not only forgave his past but also made him the chief minister of West Pakistan, the present day Pakistan. So it would be unjustified to single out Maulana Madni and his followers, which includes Maulana Fazlur Rahman, as lesser Muslims. Our ulema have a great spiritual affinity with Deoband and Breilly, both in India. Here are situated the highest seats of Islamic learning in the Southeast Asia.

Maulana Fazlur Rahman while speaking in India has avoided mentioning jihad in the context of Kashmir. Unfortunately, some people in Pakistan have interpreted it as if Maulana Fazlur Rahman has abandoned the concept of jihad, which is a cardinal principle of Islam. These critics are wrong. Maulana has not abandoned the concept of jihad; he is against the misuse of this noble principle. Lest we forget, in the recent years the misuse and exploitation of the jihad principle has distorted the image of Islam and Pakistan.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken a very serious view of the misuse of jihad principle. It has banned reference to jihad in Radio and TV broadcasts and mosque khutbas. The Saudi Government was constrained to take this action because of al-Qaeda suicide bomb attack in Riyadh last May that killed 35 Saudis, including women and children. The government has also fired nearly 1,000 maulvis who were either linked or had sympathy with al-Qaeda.

Maulana Fazlur Rahman`s visit to India will further stabilise the process of normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan. His visit has shown that all Mullahs are not extremists and most of them value peace and harmony among the nations and religions. The normalisation process so far is moving very smoothly. Although, the two governments are still searching for a date to start a dialogue, the people of the two countries are already at it, having a warm dialogue and attempting to understand each other. The government to government dialogue can wait because it usually leads to stalemate and then everything reverts to square one.

says Kuldip Nayar


This was in 1945, two years before Partition. The demand for Pakistan was gaining ground and affecting relations between Hindus and Muslims adversely.

I was then studying at Law College, Lahore. Mohammed Ali Jinnah came to our college to address a meeting. He said: Some nations have killed millions of each other’s people and yet an enemy of today is a friend of tomorrow. That is history.


I recalled those words at several meetings in Pakistan while leading a team of eight members of Parliament to that country.

The response was overwhelming. Some people were so moved that they began to cry. It was as if I had chanced upon a reservoir of goodwill so far untapped. This was no nostalgia. This reflected the people’s desire to bury the hatchet. They want Indo-Pak relations to be cordial. They made no bones about their exasperation over the yawning distance. They want to seize the opportunity presented by Prime Minister Vajpayee’s initiative.

Still, their doubts about India’s “intentions” run deep. Many believe that New Delhi may be up to something and that talk of peace may well be “another ploy to harm Pakistan”. We heard in many speeches the allegation that India has not accepted Partition. Vajpayee is trusted but not the BJP which he leads. Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani is criticised the most for “not letting the two countries get closer”.

True, Kashmir was mentioned practically at every gathering. But the significant change which can be noticed is the realisation that jehadis and militants are not the answer. A peaceful solution is the battle-cry now.

For the first time, the Jamaat-e-Islami hosted a reception for an Indian delegation. They said they wanted a solution through talks. They, like other political leaders, do not want Kashmir to be put on the back-burner. But they favour a serious dialogue.

We, on our part, should discuss the issue as long as it takes to resolve it. But I feel Kashmir is a symptom, not the disease. The disease is mistrust. In fact, suspicion is the core issue, not Kashmir. Were mistrust to remain, it would take another form and reappear even if we solved Kashmir.

The Siachen glacier is an example. A settlement to redeploy forces of the two countries was worked out more than 15 years ago so that the glacier remained free of troops. The agreement was initialed by foreign secretaries from both sides.

The untimely disclosure of details by the Pakistan foreign secretary made New Delhi so angry that it cancelled the whole thing. It was at best an indiscretion. But then suspicion took over. Till today settlement remains elusive because New Delhi suspects Islamabad will re-occupy the place.

In the Shimla agreement, it is laid down that the two sides will meet to reach “a final settlement on Jammu and Kashmir” for establishment of durable peace. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then leading Pakistan, told me in an interview that “the Line of Control is the line of peace”. Still there has been no settlement because the mutual confidence which fosters understanding is missing.

Again, the Lahore declaration, which had set a timeframe for a solution on Kashmir, failed to take off since the Pakistan army had different plans. While the two leaders, Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, were shaking hands at the Wagah border, General Pervez Musharraf was sending troops to Kargil. This was a breach of faith. The summit at Agra failed because the two sides were mulling over the right words while committing themselves to nothing tangible. The basic problem is lack of trust.

How to break the vicious circle? Most retired bureaucrats and military officials, whose opinions are taken seriously by both governments, are primarily in the way. They are probably settling personal scores at the expense of peace in the subcontinent. At a recent track two meeting in Kathmandu, they went through the same futile exercise.

This exasperation has led Indo-Pak peace groups on both sides to sponsor visits of parliamentarians across the border. They want to create a climate of amity and friendship. They hope to put pressure on the governments on both sides to face the fact that people are no more interested in hostilities and want to live in peace as good neighbours.

The difficulties I encountered in assembling a group of parliamentarians make me fearful that dominant sections in government and political parties are not yet serious about making peace with Pakistan. Probably they are weighing their election prospects if there is no Pakistan horse to beat.

Before constituting the parliamentary team I met the prime minister, who was all for it. I thought I would have no opposition at least from the BJP. I approached Vijay Kumar Malhotra, the party’s spokesperson. He said he would come back to me but never did. Surely the PM could not have stopped him. BJP President Venkaiah Naidu, whom I contacted for names of BJP MPs, never returned my call. Lajpat Rai, a member of Rajya Sabha belonging to the BJP, himself approached me to be part of the team. But he did not show up. I believe the party asked him to withdraw.

It is difficult to comprehend the BJP’s approach. Even after avowing support to Vajpayee’s initiative, the party seems confused. Whatever its considerations, it has sent a wrong message across the border. Whenever I would say in Pakistan that the PM was sincere and honest in repairing relations, I was asked why his party was not represented.

The Congress too was ambivalent. It allowed Pawan Bansal, a Lok Sabha member from Chandigarh, to accompany the team. But the party stopped Renuka Chowdhury and Jagmeet Singh Brar from going. K.M. Khan, a Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh, came straight from Bangladesh without talking to party leaders. I give full marks to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party which allowed Shahid Siddiqui, a Rajya Sabha member, to join the team. Credit goes also to the National Conference for letting Abdul Rashid accompany the team. As expected, the CPI(M) officially nominated Lakshman Seth to represent the party. It was a wonderful team to lead.

Speak up before it`s too late!
By Rana Ikram Rabbani

Rabbani, a former minister of health, Punjab, Pakistan is founder of SAFE (South Asians for Enlightenment), and one of the enthusiastic supporters of friendship between the peoples of Pakistan and India in general. This statement was delivered South Asia Study Center of Rajasthan University, Jaipur).

I have a lasting impression of the late President Kennedy’s remarks in his press conference just before his assassination. He said, ``The French government, the de Gaulle government is not necessarily friendly to our policies, but France is always a reliable and attractive country to the Americans.`` In order to elevate the level of our relations to that mentioned by President Kennedy each of us would have to double our efforts to foster understanding, mutual reliance and attraction for the other.The world today is a world of mutual reliance. The stability of one country is dependent on the stability of a region or even the globe. The prosperity of a country is simply unachievable without a peaceful internal and external environment. Everybody knows that all are interrelated in the world. We all live in separate countries and in separate families, but we live on one earth. We all are linked to each other in some way or the other. Therefore, it is not proper that one’s enjoyment is achieved through the suffering of another. We all must enjoy life together. To do so, we must take concerted actions to solve various problems. In my view, the opportunity presents itself time and again and it is up to us to seize that when it comes. In international relations there is now a turning point from confrontation to amity, from opposition to compromise. To further this tendency we must make our contributions.

We are also very clear that the planet we live in, is by no means a peaceful harbor, but rather a place where disputes and conflicts may never cease. From the catastrophic World Wars to the undeclared military competition in the cold war period, from the frequent territorial disputes to the racial conflicts, from the sharp disparity between the rich and the poor to the present trend of multipolarization, all these are constant reminders that peaceful coexistence of nations is the prerequisite for a better life for mankind.

South Asia as a Geo-political entity emerged only fifty years ago but it is one of the oldest civilizations of the world. As the young nation states emerged at the end of the colonial rule, the civilizational unity was apparently forgotten. Every state started groping for its future separately.
Boundaries demarcated their territories but also divided people, their common history and shared traditions. These similarities and common interests of the people should be brought to the fore for the benefit of whole of the South Asian community, which represents one fifth of the World’ s population.

Governments of South Asian states have played the game of one upmanship for past fifty years adopting belligerent postures towards each other, pitting people against people and creating demonic image of ‘other’. The cold war politics instead of bringing the South Asian nations together actually deepened the division among them and sowed the seeds of mutual suspicion and hatred. Hatred cannot put an end to hatred, In this world this never happens. This is an eternal law. We in Pakistan are still obsessed with the cold war syndrome while the world has firmly put the cold war behind itself and marched ahead. President Clinton’s visit and speech reflects very much the general thinking in Washington in particular and world in general. As regional integration (mainly economic) of different parts of the world,particularly of Europe brought increasing prosperity and well being to the inhabitants of those regions South Asian nations deliberately continued to look the other way. Instead of attempting to build bridges they were as if knowingly or otherwise widening chasms between them. While European states got over their violent past and the bitterest of conflicts of several centuries and moved towards integration, countries of South Asia have refused to learn anything from the European example. European nations have experienced wars of all kinds all along their history from small wars, to hundred year’s war to world wars. But finally without compromising their respective sovereignty, geographical boundaries, entity and identity they have joined in a Union, European Union.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has remained a half-hearted effort, as if, reluctantly undertaken. SAARC summits are political rituals without substance and have belied any hope of positive change in the region. Instead South Asia has become the hotbed of arms race.When the world has shunned the weapons of mass destruction India and Pakistan are caught in a frenzy to outdo each other by developing them and appear to have adopted the deadly MAD (mutually assured destruction) doctrine of the cold war era at astronomical costs.
History must be remembered, all right. But nations have to forgive and forget their hostile past with other nations to provide a better and prosperous future to their generations to come. This could not be truer than that of the nations of South Asia. People and Governments of South Asia should not dwell on the events of the past. They should instead forge ahead in a meaningful manner towards peace and economic prosperity and away from the path that leads to confrontation and strife, which would eventually prove to be detrimental to the interests of the people of South Asia. This brings me to another important twin idea, that of Human security ad human Development.

A changed discourse on Security that has resulted from a major paradigm shift in theory and to an extent in practice of international politics is a recent development. In the past few years there has been a visible movement from state-centered politics to man-centered politics. Human concerns now dominate debates on various issues such as development, intervention and rights in the international arena. The concept of security has been for too long defined and interpreted narrowly and almost exclusively in terms of state or national security, driven by nationalistic zeal and fortified by the cold war in mid 20th century and it sanctified ‘territory’. Nation-state is a matter of maps and must have borders; hence it easily overlooked the human dimension of security. It excluded the legitimate concerns of ordinary people in their day to day life and established a simplistic equation between national security and individual security. The concept of security has changed in two basic ways: from an exclusive stress on territorial security to a much greater stress on people’s security, and from security through armaments to security through sustainable development. That security also has a meaning independent of the state at the level of the individual is now fairly well accepted. This notion of security is intimately connected with peace. In 1945 the US Secretary of State put it very precisely, ``The battle of peace has to be fought on two fronts. The first is the security front where victory spells freedom from fear. The second is the economic front where victory means freedom from want. Only victory on both fronts can assure the world of an enduring peace.`` I do not intend to discuss the concept of Human security but to point out those aspects of Indo-Pak relationship that adversely affect the socio-political aspect of Human security in the sub-continent. The burden of military expenditure in South Asia has been consistently on the rise in the post cold war era. It is disturbing to note that South Asia is moving totally against global trends and that too at a fairly prohibitive cost in foreign exchange. The social and human cost of spending is enormous. It is said that the cost of one battle tank is enough to immunize 4 million children and the cost of one submarine can provide safe drinking water to 60 million people. It must be noted that India and Pakistan share nearly 93 % of the total South Asian military expenditure. Recently India went for a colossal increase of Rs13000 crores in its defence budget. Military budget in Pakistan has become unsustainable because of its rising ratio to the GDP. Islamabad and New Delhi spend 6.5 % and 3.1% of their respective GDP on defence. Indo-Pakistan arms race has included weapons of mass destruction (WMD). With their nuclear programs dating back to the early 1960s and 1970s, India and Pakistan are believed to have the capacity to produce significant number of nuclear weapons. At the same time, they are engaged in a leisurely pursuit of ballistic missile capacity. This earns them a ranking among the top ten largest buyers of weapons among developing states. Have these extensive military preparations made an Indian, or a Pakistani, more secure or free of fear? NO. In fact in case of Pakistan the source of the gravest of security threats is internal-imminent economic and social collapse-rather than external. This attention to and expenditure on defence contrasts sharply with the expenditure on other significant areas. Pakistan’s military spending, for instance, is estimated to be 125% of the combined education and health expenditure. India’s military expenditure on the other hand, is estimated to be 65% of its combined education and health expenditure. These sectoral imbalances have had serious repercussions for Islamabad and New Delhi’s performance in the areas important for Human development. India has the largest number of people living in absolute poverty (350 million, or 26% of the world total). Pakistan accounts for 2.7% of the world’s total with 35 million people (over one quarter of its population) living in absolute poverty. India spends 3.5 % of its GNP on education and has an adult literacy rate of 50 %. Translated in real terms, this means that India has the largest number of illiterate adults (272 million in1992) in the world Pakistan spends3.4 % of its GNP on education and only 45 million people or 36 % of its total population is estimated to be literate. In India, where life expectancy at birth is 59.7 years, 3.5 million children die before reaching the age of five, while another69.3 million in the same age group remain malnourished. Pakistan’s performance is not better; it has an infant mortality rate of 99 per 1,000 live births and the number of malnourished children is estimated to be 3.7 million. In India and Pakistan, approximately 844 million people have no access to sanitation facilities and an estimated 281 million have no access to safe drinking water. Hence India and Pakistan are ranked 135 and 137 out of 173 states on the Human Development Index (HDI) designed by the United Nations Development Program.

Given that these two states are moving down the HDI ranking each year, it can be safely assumed that both India and Pakistan run the risk of further depriving their people of basic necessities unless they spend less on war preparations and more on health and education. At this critical juncture we at SAFE have undertaken a mission to lend a voice to all those who dream of making South Asia a haven of peace and prosperity through cooperation and harmony among the South Asians. We have witnessed that common culture of Sub-Continent is strong enough to survive 50 years of Indo-Pak hostile relationship. We want to make SAFE a peoples’ SAARC. We want to learn by other’s experiences. Our faith abounds in infinite abilities of the common man of this region who is aware of his the rich legacy and has faith in the collective future.

India should stop its counterproductive efforts to isolate the Musharraf regime. In Myanamar the army has directly ruled for more than two decades but New Delhi has never raised the matter or let that fact come in the way of normal bilateral relations. ·


Pakistan does have valid grounds for disagreements with India but it can start with issues on which we agree and make headway towards the ``Core Issue`` by taking confidence-building measures. So we may have environment of mutual trust in which we may not fear to negotiate but not negotiate out of fear.

Sino-American and Sino-Taiwan trade relations offer a good example of how trade relations could be used skillfully to enhance mutual confidence between two politically hostile countries.

Games and sports are important aspects in bringing people together. We all remember well the ``Cricket diplomacy`` which helped to reduce tension between India and Pakistan while all the tougher issues were still out there. Can we convert ``Sports diplomacy`` into confidence building measure and move towards a peaceful dialogue? This is something worth considering. We believe that fundamental problem between India and Pakistan is not that we are the same people by virtue of a shared history or different people because of religions. The fundamental problem is that of intolerance, mistrust and lack of pragmatic and humane vision and approach. In pursuance of objective of `` Peaceful-Coexistence `` we appeal to the Governments of India and Pakistan-:
* To put an immediate halt to the arms race between the two countries and thereby saving mare than a billion lives from a probable nuclear holocaust; To jointly undertake effective measures to stop the menace of smuggling, narcotics and terrorism.
* To allow free exchange between people of SAARC countries by doing away with visa and other restrictions.
* To expand the area of co-operation in trade, cultural exchange, communication and tourism.
* To encourage academics and students exchange by short trip spending a semester or two in each other’s campus.
* To encourage exchange of News and Electronic media correspondents on both sides and their access to each other’s newspapers and political leaders.
* To reduce propaganda against each other and discourage Selective use of information, Selective use of historical record and Negative image building
* To find and encourage the avenues for expressing opinion and views of common man and not merely restricting it to elite and intellectuals.

A thaw in Indo-Pak. relations

By Rajindar Sachar

For fruitful talks with Pakistan, it is necessary to broadly work out an acceptable arrangement internally in Jammu and Kashmir.



THE RECENT visit of the Pakistan MPs, following the statesman-like speech by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in Srinagar, expressing an open wish to normalise relations with Pakistan and have open-ended talks with all the groups in Jammu and Kashmir has again revived the hope that the volatile situation in the subcontinent, caused by Indo-Pakistan hostility, will become a thing of the past.

For fruitful talks with Pakistan, it is necessary to broadly work out an acceptable arrangement internally in Jammu and Kashmir. The importance of this emerged broadly during the interaction with the Pakistani delegation. Both the Indian and the Pakistani groups accepted that notwithstanding the sentiments of the past and the public fulmination of politicians, there was a Lakshman rekha which could not be crossed.

That except for a minor modification based on geographical or practical considerations, public opinion in neither of the countries will accept any change in the Line of Control. And that politicians in India will continue to proclaim their loyalty to an impracticable parliamentary resolution of a decade ago to reclaim portions of Kashmir on the Pakistani side, while politicians in Islamabad will shed tears for the right of Kashmiris to self-determination, conveniently keeping under wraps the fact that Pakistan has already incorporated Gilgit etc., permanently into its territory and also leased out hundreds of miles in Aksai Chin in Kashmir to the Chinese. Even the proponents of independent Kashmir do not talk of reclaiming these areas.

Notwithstanding Kargil, overwhelming sentiment in both Pakistan and India would welcome this arrangement though for some time it may be shown as de facto, with the understanding that it will be made a de jure international boundary at an appropriate time. It necessarily has to be a slow process considering that Pakistan has, for the last so many decades, fed its people on the prospect of the whole of Jammu and Kashmir becoming part of it.

Some well-meaning commentators in Pakistan have suggested an arrangement like Taiwan and mainland China where the latter has accepted Taiwan as an independent country but refuses to make it de jure. This, however, cannot work in Kashmir. Despite the public outcry by the Chinese, no military conflict took place between mainland China and Taiwan possibly because of the American defence extended to Taiwan to remain a separate entity. There was no enmity generated between mainland China and Taiwan.

Unfortunately, India and Pakistan have fought three wars which have generated tremendous mutual suspicion. Now that talks are to take place, both the Governments must take this issue by the horn. Practical realism must dictate that there is no alternative but to maintain status quo on a permanent basis.

The suggestion by some American think-tanks that this ``core issue``, as Pakistan says, should be frozen to be taken up after a decade, is unnatural — it may allow mischief-makers on both sides spoil the goodwill which has been generated and once again create a vacuum which may encourage the U.S. to don the role of a mediator or facilitator to strengthen its unsavoury presence in the subcontinent.

Pakistani friends did drop a hint and I fully agree with them that if New Delhi were to work out a satisfactory arrangement with the people of Kashmir, it will serve a dual purpose — one, it will give Pakistan a direct message that there is no division in the Indian thinking on such a sensitive issue and second, it will enable peace activists in Pakistan to convince its people that since the people of Jammu and Kashmir have arrived at a settlement with the Centre, any talk of coming to the help of the beleaguered Muslim population in Jammu and Kashmir is false and that the only course for the welfare of the masses lies is permanent Indo-Pakistan friendship.

Except an insignificant number, people in the Valley yearn for peace provided the Centre recognises the genuine aspirations of the people and agrees to an arrangement which gives them pride in their Kashmiriyat and a mechanism to further their aspirations while remaining part of the Indian Union.

If all the political parties give an assurance that Article 370 will not be abrogated, and that the pre-1953 status — by which Jammu and Kashmir had acceded to India only subjects of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Communication and Currency — will be given a constitutional status with a proviso that similar autonomy will be given to the regions of Jammu and Ladakh, the people will accept it and even the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, despite its unedifying spectacle of waiting on the doors of foreign embassies, will rethink its plight of being forced into the wilderness.

In this process, Pakistan`s delay in announcing a High Commissioner to India and in restoring the air links is a cause for concern. And this encourages the BJP hawks, notwithstanding that the initiative is that of its own Prime Minister, to `sabotage` the visit by using un-parliamentary language against the organisers and other non-official groups which arranged the visit of the Pakistani MPs. This ultimately led to the BJP leadership and the Government spokesman refusing to meet a parliamentary delegation from a neighbouring country, ignoring the wise words of the Prime Minister that you can give up your friends but you cannot give up your neighbour.

The recent bombing and killing in Saudi Arabia (till now acclaimed the leader of Muslim Umma) by the Al-Qaeda network and the latest warning of revenge against the U.S. and its allies by Ayman Al- Zawahiri, closest aide of Osama bin Laden, should make the terrorist organisations operating in Kashmir realise that this extreme form of fundamentalism is a danger to the safety of both Muslims and non-Muslims in India and Pakistan, and that both the Governments can meet the challenge of terrorism only by mutual goodwill and confidence.

Of course, the Hurriyat`s claim as the sole representative of Kashmiris is unacceptable. Political space has been occupied by other groups as a result of what is now accepted as fairly free elections and they cannot be ignored. But still the Hurriyat does respect the silent sentiment of the Valley and, therefore, any settlement without involving it may not be feasible.

In order to break the deadlock, if the Prime Minister were to invite all the groups and individuals, including the Hurriyat and Shabir Shah, and assure them of the Government`s desire for a respectable and satisfactory arrangement and ask them to work out the details with the official negotiator, N. N. Vohra, it will be difficult for any group to refuse to engage in talks.

The Pakistani delegation also responded encouragingly to the suggestions of a group of Chief Executive Officers of the corporate sector in India for visiting Pakistan and having talks with their counterparts. This will further be an opening for mutual benefit and encouragement of trade resulting in the saving of billions for both the countries.

This step and opening of the rail, bus and air links and comparatively free movement of people, including relaxation of visits by families across the LoC, will accelerate the process of Indo-Pakistan amity.

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Peace and Harmony for South Asia

The general consenus in any group of South Asians will most likely have a majority that will agree that living in peace is to the greatest advantage of the greatest number in the populations of South Asia. But the majority opinion of the very same group will also beleive that permanent peace is unlikely to prevail any time soon. They will hold this view yet most of them will sigh and wish it were not so.

This is a defeatist approach. Peace and harmony must be achieved and can be achieved. But if we expect the politicians and bureaucrats to settle the differences and bring peace, folks that isn`t going to happen till hell freezes over. For peace to prevail individuals have to take the initiative in their own hands.

Like charity, reform also begins at home. Let`s start right here, at Chowk.com: All people who beleive that the greater good of the greatest number of people in South Asia will come with increased prosperity, and that prosperity requires peace as a pre-condition, should take initiatives of peace and harmony by first of all bringing into the fold of decency, tolerence and civilization all the card-carrying members of the Pak-Bharat Dushmeni Club who contaminate this website with their blind hatred, ill mannered jahil and vicious comments and generally revulsive predisposition. If this can first be achieved here on this website only then there is some hope for the future of the billion plus South Asians from The Durand Line to the Burma border.

The second practical approach for people to people peace and harmony is possible among South Asians who live abroad. Let your sons and daughters feel free to inter marry. Befriend people of other South Asian ethnicities and religions and invite them to your functions and go and participate in theirs. Let your toddlers and teen agers mingle at those functions.

Furthermore those who can afford should start a tradition to send their younger family members (who have passports from Europe, America, Canadia etc) on a Grand Trip to South Asia as a ritualistic rite of passage, just like American middle class youth went to Europe for the summer.

These are small steps but their accummulative effect can snowball. There is a Chinese saying that It is better to have one match stick lit for a second than to curse the darkness forever.

...SR

A very pleasant read!

I do not understand why was all this hapening at Jinnah`s mazar. At one time he did represent the unity of the Hindus and Muslims but he abandoned his own ideals for personal aggrandizement.

All this notwithstanding


Let us not underestimate the potential for improvement between the parts of one nation that was vivisected by the international forces, misguided and desperate Indians. An important thing to research and identify is which groups are benefitting with the continued division of Indians. This needs to be done before the appropriate strategy for the neutralization of the profiteers of war and division.

Dost-mittar, please do not discourage or be discouraged by the enormity of the job. The important thing is to correct the slope of the feeder lines and you will be amazed by the ease with which the drops will fill the ocean.

The very fact that people realize their own contribution to the mess as documented in the write-up shows that there is a possibility. You never know what can lead to what result. For example when BJP came to power in India there was widespread fear that liguistic quarrels in India will aggravate. I also personally knew about Murli Manohar Joshi who refused to attend my wedding because the invitation was in English language. By the way he was a student of my father. But that problem was solved forever by BJP by acquiescing to the demand of erstwhile Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu that all Indian languages be recognized as official languages not just Hindi. For past five years there has not been any language problem in India.

SO CONTINUE BUILDING THE BRIDGES AND DISMANTLE THE BOMBS AS THE CONFIDENCE, COMMITMENT AND COMFORT LEVELS INCREASE!!!!

A coalition of women and children will go a long way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#9 by harimau
Ref #5 by temporal

[...the alternative to peace is ghastly... continued army occupation of the country...] ``Actually, occupation of Pakistan only. So why should India help Pakistanis out by making peace?``


because they are our neighbours?
because friendly relations with a pakistan freed from army`s clutches would benefit us also... for instance some of the money we spend on defence could be spent on education etc?



#11 by sarwar
``Traditionally, the Indian Muslim has displayed a visible arrogance towards the Hindu faith. He has mocked his deities, shunned his beliefs and adopted the high moral ground in relation to the Hindu lifestyle. If this is the Indian Muslim, who has coexisted with the Hindu forever, it is presumed, naturally, that the Muslim from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will be far more intolerant. The arrival of seven Pakistanis for the Kumbh and their obvious respect for Hindu customs, has therefore, made for a pleasant surprise. And this really is how we can build bridges, gulf the divide.``

that may be true, but things are changing now, and that reminds me... there was an interesting bit of news in yesterday`s Times of India.... in connection with the Krishna Janmashtami celebrations on Tuesday... here it is..
``RELIGION NO BAR
It can be termed as an ideal example of communal harmony. Safa Banu, a four year old Muslim girl, won the Muddukrishna (baby Krishna) contest in Udupi. In the fancy dress contest, young children are dressed up as Krishna. This year Safa, dressed like the Udupi Krishna idol wearing a diamond vest was the winner. Appreciating the girl`s talent and holding it up as the secularism of their town, Sri Vidhyadeesha Thirtha Swamiji said communal harmony was the need of the hour.``

can you believe it? there was a photograph of the child too, she looked marvellous.
seven pakistanis for the kumbh mela? don`t remember reading about it in our papers... tell us more?
and for the rest of your post and your article, I say `hear hear`

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Ref #5 by temporal

[...the alternative to peace is ghastly... continued army occupation of the country...]

Actually, occupation of Pakistan only. So why should India help Pakistanis out by making peace? You should stew in your own juices.

Beena:
....if the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step, how many steps are needed to start a journey of half a kilometer of no-man`s land?

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