Pakistan-India Relations

[RabzonKhan]

Call to involve children in peace process

By Khalid Khattak

LAHORE. Aman Ki Asha is a step in the right direction. There is a need to involve the youth, especially children, in the peace process between Pakistan and India as they are the future.

The children on both sides of the border should be provided more and more opportunities of regular interaction. By sharing feelings and experiences, they can better understand each other and play a pivotal role to remove misconceptions and misunderstanding among people of both the countries. These views were expressed by an Indian delegation, comprising students and teachers, which arrived in the provincial metropolis on Friday under the Indo-Pak Peace Project for Education between Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust, Pakistan, and the Millennium School, Amritsar, India.

The Indian delegation was extended a warm welcome and a colourful ceremony was also organised in this connection at the Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust (SNPET) Higher Secondary School in which a large number of students and teachers participated.

The Millennium Education for Sustainable Development Programmeís Manager Shankar Musafir, Seema Gupta, a teacher, and three students, namely Samash, Gurupdesh Singh and Saru Kundra from The Millennium School are part of the Indian delegation.

Talking to The News, Shankar Musafir said Aman Ki Asha was a good initiative and a step in the right direction. However, this should not be a time-bound activity and efforts should be made to involve the youth from the both sides in joint projects and research activities. He said exchange programmes between both the neighbouring countries should be expanded, saying interaction was necessary as it helped remove misunderstandings.

Shankar also talked about visa-related issues and said visa restrictions should be relaxed to promote visits of peoples from both the countries, adding however that there was a need to go beyond simple visits to achieve peace in the real sense.

Seema Gupta also appreciated the peace initiative of the Jang Group of Pakistan and Times of India, saying Aman Ki Asha was a very good initiative. She suggested more and more interaction among youth, especially children, of both the countries, saying children were the future and there was a need to make them realize the true situation. She further said mindset of peoples of both the countries should be changed, adding such initiatives could prove to be a great help in this regard.

Saru Kundra, a student of grade-7, said she was very excited as it was her first visit to Pakistan. She said politics on both sides of the border should not affect real lives of the peoples. She said there was a need of expanding peace and friendly trips between Indian and Pakistani peoples.

Samash, a grade-8 student, also expressed happiness over visiting Pakistan and said visa restrictions should be relaxed.

Gurupdesh Singh, a grade-7 student, said he was happy as he had made a number of new friends in Pakistan. He said peace between both the neighbouring countries was a need of the hour, adding that initiatives should be taken in this regard.

Earlier, a ceremony was organised at the Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Higher Secondary School where the Indian delegation was extended a warm welcome.

A song ìAman Se Aur Chaen Se Guzar Zindagiî was sung by the students of Sanjan Nagar School while a Punjabi play ìMoongi Masoorî was also performed by the students which earned great applause.
SNPET Managing Trustee Mrs Baela Raza Jamil, also chairperson of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), said the visit of Indian students and teachers was a beginning of friendship. She also lauded the Aman Ki Asha initiative and said that students and teachers on both the sides should think what they could do for betterment of both the countries.
The school principal Faiza Shahrukh also spoke.

 

[majesticpankaj]

very nice ad

YouTube - Aman Ki Asha, an Indo-Pak Peace Project

 

[RabzonKhan]

Indian, Pakistani students call for peace and love

By Khalid Khattak
October 25, 2010

LAHORE: Let us sow seeds of peace and love by shunning biases and prejudices and work together to share brotherhood and humanity. This was the message of a meeting between Pakistani and Indian students held here on Sunday.

The Indian delegation is currently visiting the provincial metropolis under the Indo-Pak Peace Project for Education between Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust, Pakistan, and The Millennium School, Amritsar, India. It is also linked to Aman Ki Asha, a joint peace initiative of two media groups, the Jang Group of Pakistan and the Times of India.
The students from both the sides met at 1st Indian Mock Parliament organised by the Seeds of Peace Pakistan at the FC College (A Chartered University) on Sunday. Pakistani students from different education institutions of the city participated in various sessions and replicated the Indian parliament and earned great applause from their counterparts from other side of the border.

Millennium Education for Sustainable Development Programme’s Manager Shankar Musafir, speaking on the occasion, said the mock session of Indian parliament was a great effort on part of Pakistani students.

Seeds of Peace Pakistan’s President Sajjad Ahmad said that the aim of organising the mock session of the Indian parliament was to sensitise Pakistani students to political reality in India, adding that similarly, Indian chapter of the organisation had recently organised a mock session of Pakistani parliament which was enacted by the Indian students in India.

Pakistani students who took part in the mock session of Indian parliament said that the event had changed their perception of India and Indians. They were of the view that there was a need to go beyond prejudice and accept each other as peaceful neighbours. “We need to see ourselves to achieve reconciliation,” said a student who performed the role of the Opposition Leader in Indian parliament. Another participant said, “The time has come to forget, forgive and move on.”Adviser of the Formanites Debating Society of the FC College (A Charted University), Alvina Waseem, said that there was a need to share brotherhood and humanity.A prize distribution ceremony was also held in which the Indian guest Shankar Musafir distributed certificates among the participants of the mock parliament.

Earlier, the Indian delegation spent a festive day in the provincial metropolis, visited various historical places and enjoyed local foods. Starting from the Delhi Gate, the delegates visited the Walled City and a guide from UNESCO also briefed them on the history of the places. They also visited tombs of Emperor Jahangir and Asif Jah.

Gurdwara Dera Sahib, situated opposite to the Lahore Fort, was also one of the destinations of the Indian delegates while they also tasted traditional foods of Lahore, including Siri Paye, Halwa Puri, Lasi, etc. In the evening, the delegates went to the Liberty Market, Gulberg, for shopping. Seema Gupta, a teacher, and three students, namely Samash, Gurupdesh Singh and Saru Kundra, from The Millennium School, Amritsar, were part of the Indian delegation.

 

[RabzonKhan]

The cost of conflict-II Beyond the direct cost of war

October 27, 2010

The military costs emanating from this conflict include human costs and policy losses that are rarely factored in, argues Semu Bhatt. The obvious cost of the India-Pakistan conflict is the military costs, the defence outlay and acquisitions that the media and analysts tend to focus on. In reality, the military costs emanating from this conflict include human costs and policy losses that are rarely factored in. These costs have both direct and indirect components and vary according to the intensity and type of confrontation.

Human Haemorrhage

The enduring impact of the war is the most taxing and yet rarely discussed military cost emanating from the Indo-Pak conflict.
We all know that wars claim lives. As many as a combined total of 25,000 military personnel have been killed and over 40,000 wounded or maimed, during the four Indo-Pak wars. Even during "peace time", low intensity warfare along the border claims hundreds of lives every year. In India, 70-100 Indian soldiers are killed a year in this conflict -- a total of 6,300 since 1948.

Since 1984, Siachen – the world's highest battleground, 22,000 sq ft above sea level – costs India a soldier every two days and Pakistan a soldier every four days. Ironically, enemy firing accounts for hardly three per cent of the casualties: it is the extreme climate conditions of the glacier that cause the most damage. Besides casualties, soldiers pay the price in psychological disorders, frostbite, hypoxia, high altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema and snow blindness.
In another high altitude conflict zone is Kargil, both Indian and Pakistani troops have been manning impossible border posts along the Batalik-Kargil-Drass sector since the Kargil war of 1999. Some posts here are as high as 18,000 sq ft above sea level. Temperatures dip to -40 to -60 degree Celsius in winters. From 4,000 troops pre-1999, now 20,000 Indian troops man the sector, causing a huge drain on army manpower.

The human costs of conflict are not restricted to the military. Approximately, 100,000 civilian families have suffered directly on account of four wars through civilian casualties and internal displacement. Temporary displacement during heightened tensions has become a regular phenomenon for the people (mainly Kashmiris) residing in the border areas. The Kargil war displaced 130,000 Indians and 40,000 Pakistanis. The 2002 standoff following the December 2001 parliament attack displaced 155,000 Indians and 45,000 Pakistanis. Although the displacement is often temporary and the people are compensated for any economic loss endured, the compensation is very low in relation to the psychological and economic costs they suffer.
The cross border artillery exchange claims 100 civilian lives and 250 livestock every year in Indian villages close to the border. It also damages standing crops and property (including over 200 houses annually). Several hundred people have lost limbs to land mines particularly near the Line of Control in the Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu.

It is safe to assume that the costs borne by people on the Pakistani side of LOC are correspondingly high.

Monetary Minefield

The mounting defence budgets and the huge weapon modernisation allocations, the money spent on maintaining troops and creating infrastructure in uninhabitable terrains, the rehabilitation costs for displaced civilians, economic losses due to flight of foreign investment or closing of air spaces, war taxes – these indirect costs of military conflict are more far reaching than the direct cost of war. It is these indirect costs that really reflect the financial component of military costs emanating from the Indo-Pak conflict.

The direct costs of four wars, plus the costs of the year-long mobilisation in 2002 are approximately Indian Rupees (INR) 20,000 crores for India. India spends INR 2,200 crores annually on protecting just the Siachen Glacier, making it the most expensive air maintenance operation in the world. It costs approximately INR 50,000 per soldier for the special clothing needed for temperatures that drop to –50° Celsius.

Similarly, the Kargil war cost cost about INR 3,500 crores in direct expenses. However, the cost since then to secure and patrol the Kargil-Dras-Batalik sector – is approximately INR 3,500 crores annually. Add to this the immediate cost of over INR 1,000 crores to purchase materials for high altitude warfare and survival; a few thousand crores for the subsequent infrastructure development to facilitate army deployment on mountain peaks; an additional few thousand crores for the urgent induction of advance satellites and other technology (like un-manned aerial vehicles or UAVs) to enhance intelligence-gathering; plus INR 500 crores in rehabilitation for displaced civilians.
Again, there would be correspondingly high costs on the Pakistani side.

Policy Penitence

India and Pakistan have both come to pay for their policy mistakes. Obsessed with each other and imprudently engaged in an unwinnable arms race and nuclear posturing, they have neglected internal security and the social development of their people, and rendered the subcontinent one of the most dangerous regions in the world.
Their continued animosity and battle for military one-upmanship has resulted in a vicious cycle of arms acquisitions. Each arms deal by one country triggers off an arms procurement spree in the other. Many western countries exploit this psychology by selling arms to both. In the first six months of the 2002 conflict, Britain issued 148 military exports licences to India and 18 to Pakistan. The US signed defence deals with both the countries during the same period. China, Russia, Israel and France are also in the fray to make money out of our madness.

These are the very countries that publically term South Asia as the nuclear flashpoint of the world, but continue to quietly sell arms to the two rivals. The maximum impact policy cost comes in terms of nuclear empowerment of the two hostile nations. One-fifth of the humanity is living under the constant threat of a possible nuclear outbreak if a future war or mobilisation careens out of control. Given their emotionally charged relationship, fears of a nuclear showdown in case of future Indo-Pak war are not unfounded.

Over 500,000 soldiers manning Kashmir have been able to reduce terrorist violence in the state, but are unable to ensure peace, as is evident from the recent protests. Worse, Kashmir-centric terrorist groups have begun to target other parts of India. The Indian security apparatus works overtime every time there is a major festival or event, in order to anticipate terror attacks. Stung by its Kashmir experience and marred by human rights violation accusations, the Indian army is reluctant to engage in another internal battle to quell the Maoists – the red fault line threatening to split India vertically.
On the other hand Pakistan, obsessed with the eastern border, has been slow to understand that terrorism does not work in watertight compartments. The Pakistani army is now stretched fighting the very forces it had nurtured as strategic assets. Terrorist violence in Pakistan claimed nearly 4,000 civilian casualties from January 2009 to September 2010. With the country polarised along religious, ethnic and sectarian grounds, and devastating floods impacting over 20 million people this year, it will take a mammoth effort on part of the Pakistani establishment to bring the country out of its current downward spiral. Fighting the terrorist groups selectively will be hugely detrimental to Pakistan's own cause.

It is ironic that after an over six decade-long rivalry India and Pakistan have no option but peace if they want to focus on suppressing the violence within their respective borders. They must do this to get their houses in order.

Conclusion

These broader dynamics mean that the media must understand and underline military costs of the India-Pakistan conflict. We need to be highlighted the human costs exacted on civilians; that the monetary costs are wide ranging and unmanageable; that the policy compulsions based on enmity have left us to deal with fragmented nations, tools of terror and weapons of mass destruction.

It is only when the people of both countries understand the horrors that await them in future on this conflict trajectory that they will rally for peace.

The writer is an independent analyst on security and governance issues and co-author of Cost of Conflict between India and Pakistan (International Centre for Peace Initiatives, Mumbai, 2004)
semubhatt@gmail.com

 

[RabzonKhan]

Sholay and Kheer

The News
By Zarminae Ansari
November 03, 2010

A long time ago (we won’t mention how long ago..!) in a land not so far away, a teenaged girl in Karachi won a CIDA scholarship to attend an international school in Canada - the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific on Vancouver Island (known as Pearson College -www.pearsoncollege.ca), attended by some two hundred students from over 60 countries. The Pakistani girl fell in with what became known as “The Sub-continental Clique” - comprising the two Pakistani students and the four Indian students on campus. They got together and were involved such innocent activities as cooking ready-mix kheer, watching videos of Indian movies and singing along to songs they had grown up with on both sides of the border.

Aman ki Asha made me realise that I made lasting friendships with Indians as a high school student in an international school in Victoria, Canada, then later as a graduate student at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and recently as a professional working in the UAE. Having stayed in touch with them over all this time, I felt this was a good opportunity to revisit that time in the context of Aman ki Asha. So I sent off some questions via email to my ‘desi’ friends from Pearson College.

Here is the email conversation I had with Ashwin W. Joshi, PhD. who lives and works in Mumbai as Executive Director of the Schulich School of Business (York University, Toronto, Canada) campus in India, and Anaheeta Pestonji, “Part-time Copywriter, Full-time Mom” as she describes herself.

Ashwin and I actually met when he visited our campus after graduation, and ended up hanging out because of the sub-continental clique. The visit to Delhi that Anaheeta mentions could never have happened the same way in today’s political climate. During the Mandal Commission riots of the 1990’s, I was part of an architecture students’ delegation to the ARCASIA conference. An angry, torch-carrying mob attacked the bus we were leaving the airport in and broke all the windows. But the rioters actually let us GO because we were Pakistani! This was a protest against their government rather than an attack on us as Pakistanis. We were all shaken up, but irritated a hysterical colleague, I called Anaheeta to take me away from this madness. I assumed, correctly, that she would drop everything and pick me up.

After a few days, her father asked her who I was. She said “Daddy, it’s Nini, my friend from school in Canada”.
“No, but where is she FROM?” he asked.
Apparently, there were plainclothes men parked outside their gate for the duration of my stay. They lived in a cantonment area, and he was an admiral or something! Anaheeta and I had a good laugh and reckless teenager that I was, I decided that I would go to all the bazaars I wanted because I felt “safe” that there were people “looking after me” that I could call for help, in case anything happened. Ah! The folly of youth….

Over to our email conversation:
Q: What or how was your first interaction with a Pakistani?
Ashwin: Faheem Abbas and Atiya Khan at Pearson College (fall 1984) in Victoria, Canada.

Anaheeta: At Pearson College, I met you in the fall of 1986.
Q: What was your first impression? Did it change?
Ashwin: Thanks to Imran Khan I had the sense that Pakistan was a fairly liberal and western oriented society (it was 1984). Both Faheem and Atiya, the other students on campus, were consistent with this impression.

Anaheeta: I did not think of you as a Pakistani but as someone who looked and spoke reassuringly like me. So, first impression was one of ‘desi’ familiarity and therefore, comfort. Did that change? Not at all. We remained in touch after leaving PC and you even visited me in Delhi a few years later.

Q: Was it different from what you expected? If so, what surprised you the most?

Ashwin: Embarrassed to admit but I did not realize that Urdu and Hindi were so similar as to be almost one and the same. Someone asked us what language we were speaking and I said Hindi, Atiya said Urdu.. .almost simultaneously... and we both laughed.

Anaheeta: I had no expectations but I did have preconceptions of conservatism, burqas, hurly burly Pathans...the usual cliches. I’d say Mustafa was more the Pakistani I would have expected (no offense intended towards Mustafa). You, on the other hand, were more sub-continental. I have to say, your personality was way larger than your nationality! But now and then, your views, especially when it came to discussions on nationalism/our joint history, did not match what I knew ‘the facts’ to be. That’s when we often differed and argued... it was out of those many interactions that I began to realise that there are no unshakeable facts and history is ultimately a point of view...It just depends which side you are on. That, I believe, is a life lesson I learnt through you at PC.

Q: Do you think initiatives like Aman ki Asha will have an impact?
Ashwin: Absolutely. Aman Ki Asha type initiatives cannot hurt. What is in our control is to foster people-to-people contacts to develop a sense of the commonality that binds us. I laud this initiative and would like to see more along these lines.Developing people-to-people, artist-to-artist, business-to-business contacts is definitely the way to go forward. Inter-governmental posturing will remain but we need to make that less relevant and more ceremonial...kinda like the ritual dance that happens daily at the Wagah border.

Anaheeta: Every bit counts. Music, art and culture bring people together and reveal their commonality. The more we interact, the more we will realize how easily we connect. Do I think Aman ki Asha can influence the larger political stalemate? No. But that should not be its measure of success. With Aman ki Asha, we are onto a good thing. We’re talking and singing, laughing and listening. That to me, is enough. Let us not expect more. Peace at the political level willnot happen in a hurry. There are many forces at play that are beyond our understanding and control. Why wait for them to sort out before we can meet?

“There is more in you than you think,” said Kurt Hahn, the German educationist and founder of the United World Colleges (UWC | UWC) who established the first one in 1962. The UWC mission statement is about making education “a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The idea of international understanding was deeply ingrained in me thanks to the experience of studying in a United World College. This was a very special junior college - its entire existence was based on the idea of international understanding.

“How can there be peace without people understanding each other; and how can this be if they don't know each other?” asked Lester B. Pearson, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning premier of Canada. The UWC initiative was the answer then - perhaps as Aman Ki Asha is today.
Palestinian and Egyptian students became friends with Israeli students at these schools, as did students from other countries and cultures at odds with each other.

UWC Presidents include Prince Charles, and now Queen Rania of Jordan and Nelson Mandela. When I went to Canada, there were UWCs in USA, Italy, UK, Swaziland, Venezuela and Singapore. Now there are a total of 13 UWCs including in Hong Kong, Norway, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Bosnia and Herzegovina - and one in Pune, India to which Pakistani students, unfortunately and ironically, may not apply.

The writer is an Islamabad based architect who first formed friendships with Indians as a student at United World College in Canada.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Pak-India tennis stars become Aman ki Asha ambassador

By our correspondent
November 09, 2010


KARACHI: Formalising what appears to be an obvious partnership, ace Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has agreed to be Aman ki Asha ambassador, representing this peace initiative of the Jang Group and the Times of India.

Aman ki Asha aims at to create an enabling environment for peace by facilitating sustained dialogue and by initiating cross-border projects in the fields of politics, economics, trade and investment, culture and sport.

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and his double partner Rohan Bopanna of India, popularly called the ‘Indo-Pak Express’, have captured imaginations worldwide and particularly in the subcontinent.

Their ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’ campaign in particular has received accolades around the world. The duo shares a great rapport on and off the court, and cites their friendship as an example of cooperation between the people of both countries. They have also been vocal in supporting peace between India and Pakistan and dream of playing a tennis match at Wagah border, with Aisam playing on the Indian side and Rohan on the Pakistani.

The Monaco-based organisation Peace for Sport has recognised Aisam and Rohan as ‘Champions for Peace’. An image of the two, flanked by the UN ambassadors of their countries, was recently voted as Peace for Sport’s Image of the Year, 2010.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has also recently declared Aisam as UNDP National Ambassador of Goodwill. Aisam and Rohan wholeheartedly support Aman ki Asha, an initiative that highlights the cost of conflict and exemplifies the benefits of peace and cooperation.

Aman ki Asha and the Indo-Pak Express are also working together to raise funds for the flood victims in Pakistan by playing in an exhibition match in Dubai.

 

[RabzonKhan]

VIEW: War and peace at Wagah border

Daily Times
Saurab Chhachhi
November 10, 2010

It has been 64 years since the Radcliffe Line cut through the village of Wagah in Punjab, the east going to India and the west to Pakistan. Events at the Wagah border reflect the tensions and hostility since partition as well as the aspirations of ordinary people for peace and friendship. On August 14 and 15, 2010, I was at the Wagah border where I witnessed two ceremonies: the official ‘beating of the retreat’ (lowering of the flags) by the Indian BSF (Border Security Force) and the Pakistani Rangers, which has been held every day since 1959, and the midnight candlelit vigil held every August 14 and 15 by peace activists from both sides of the border.

At dusk, I sat down in the front row of the stands facing two gates — the side I was on said ‘India’ and the gate on the other side said ‘Pakistan’. On the Pakistani side, loudspeakers were blaring out patriotic songs and people were waving huge flags and dancing to mark their independence day. On the Indian side, a group of students was performing a play (it was basically a man shouting at the top of his voice) interspersed with patriotic songs as well. Finally, the bugle rang out and the parade began on both sides, synchronised with each other. Two women (for the first time this year) marched across at a fast pace and saluted the commander, positioning themselves at the corner of the gate. They were followed by six feet tall border guards speed-marching with extended arms, stamping on the ground and then giving a high kick. It was quite incredible. Each time they raised their legs, they almost hit their heads! Then followed a peculiar ritual — almost like a dance — and then a series of head and shoulder jerky movements that were full of aggression. At regular intervals slogans were raised. As one side shouted “zindabad” (long live), the other side would shout “murdabad” (death to) in reaction. The gates were opened, the flags of both countries were lowered for the day and after a brief handshake the gates were closed. The whole ceremony was quite absurd and the soldiers looked like roosters dressed, on one side in brown and red, and on the other side in black and white stripes, with plumbed turbans, strutting and preening, which made me want to laugh.

However, it was not really funny since the ritual was also the assertion of territorial control and power, and the body movements conveyed aggressive threats. Though the aggression has been toned down (earlier the soldiers showed clenched fists and made contemptuous gestures with their thumbs), we could see that thousands of people on both sides of the border (it is estimated that 15,000 come every day to witness this ceremony) were being instigated into hatred and competition. It is ironic that this ceremony is actually planned by both sides and they practice together, yet the message that is sent is of war and enmity.

In contrast to the cacophony of the evening, the border was quiet as 50 peace activists walked towards the gates with candles, shouting slogans of peace and friendship: “Pak-Hind awaam dosti zindabad” (Long live Pak-India people’s friendship) and “jang nahi aman chaahiye; bomb nahi roti chaahiye” (we do not want war, we want peace; we do not want bombs, we want food). The candles were placed at the gates and were flickering in the dark, sending out rays of hope. The vigil has been organised for the last 15 years by well-known journalist Kuldip Nayar. This year was special due to a peace caravan that was organised simultaneously from Mumbai to Wagah in India and Karachi to Wagah in Pakistan by Dr Sandeep Pandey (a Magsaysay award winner) from India and my father, Karamat Ali (founder of the Pakistan Peace Coalition) among others. Prominent among the participants were Mahesh Bhatt (a Bollywood film director), Aitzaz Ahsan and Iqbal Haider (leaders of the lawyers and human rights movement in Pakistan) and Kamla Bhasin (a well known feminist/songwriter who was one of the first to build bridges between Indian and Pakistani women). It was very moving to hear Iqbal Haider’s emotional appeal as he repeated in front of the gates: “Darwaza khol do, logon ko milne do” (open the gates, let the people meet). However, the people from the Pakistani side were unfortunately not allowed to come to the border this year.

The guards who had been performing the parade earlier were also there and, ironically, when we asked them about the India-Pakistan situation, they said that they wanted the conflict to end so that we could live like normal neighbours. As part of this vigil, thousands of people had gathered at Attari (a nearby village) under a tent where singers, artists and poets from both countries performed on themes of peace between the two countries. Although I had seen the beating of the retreat in 2001(when I was eight) from the Pakistani side as well, I found the experience this time to be very disturbing, as now I understood its meaning and implications. It was quite frightening the way people could show so much hatred and animosity towards one another and how the ridiculously choreographed ceremony orchestrated a sense of jingoistic nationalism.

Since my father is from Pakistan and my mother is from India, when I see this kind of hatred, I feel as if I belong to No Man’s Land (the sliver of earth between the gates) as in Saadat Hassan Manto’s brilliant story Toba Tek Singh. At the same time, I think that there is great inspiration and hope in the growing peace movement and initiatives like the peace caravan where activists planted peepal trees (symbolising wisdom and peace) along the border in soil mixed from both countries this year. As these peepal trees, under which Buddha — the expression of compassion and ahimsa (non-violence) — achieved enlightenment, grew, I believe and hope that we Indians and Pakistanis can follow in his footsteps.

The writer, born in 1993 in Holland, is son of Dr Amrita Chhachhi (India) and Karamat Ali (Pakistan), both founding members of Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD). He is an IB student at the British School, New Delhi.

 

[RabzonKhan]

YouTube - Nazar Me Rehte Ho (Aman ki Asha Anthem) Official Video By Sarmad

 

[RabzonKhan]

bookshelf


A selection of some books that we believe further the cause of peace and understanding between Pakistan and India.

Curfewed Night
By Basharat Peer
Random House Publishers India Pvt. Ltd., 2008


‘The Great Divide:
India and Pakistan’ (Hardback, 360 pages)
India International Centre Quarterly, edited
By Ira Pande Harper Collins,
India, 2009


The Sole Spokesman– Jinnah: The Muslim League
and the Demand for Pakistan
By Ayesha Jalal
Cambridge University Press, 1985

 

[RabzonKhan]

2,400 Indian, Pakistani schoolchildren in ‘Exchange for Change’

By Asad Farooq

KARACHI: The Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) on Monday introduced an initiative titled ‘Exchange for Change,’ an interactive exchange programme among 2,400 schoolchildren of Pakistan and India.

In collaboration with Routes2Roots, an Indian non-governmental organisation (NGO), CAP would organise the exchange, during which sustained exchange of written, visual and oral histories would take place among the schoolchildren, aged between 10 to 14, from 10 schools across Pakistan and India.

The participating schools have been chosen along three main economic strata; privileged, middle-income and underprivileged, while the students are equally represented within the project in order to present a more holistic dialogue among students belonging to diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

On the occasion, former Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Sherry Rehman said the initiative would help to build relationships across the borders.

“We have a ray of hope as it is focuses on the new generation,” she said, welcoming the CAP initiative.

“Due to the involvement of schoolchildren, the ‘exchange for change’ is a dialogue between two nations not states,” she exclaimed.

“We should tell our new generation that borders are important and everyone should respect the international borders, but we can share much more across the borders than we actually do.”

Speaking about this initiative, CAP President Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy said the organisation was proud to have initiated a project that would mark a new chapter in achieving cross border affinity through dialogue.

Talking to Daily Times, she said the CAP wants to mitigate the tension in relations between Pakistan and India along with providing awareness to the new generation of their historical and cultural heritage.

The City School, Links, Ilm School, SMB Fatimah Jinnah, and Saving Group Schools are participating in this project from Pakistan, while from India the participants include Sanskriti, St Pauls, Balwant Rai Mehta Vidya Bhavan School, Shushuvan and Gandhi Memorial.

It is believed that such interaction would in turn lead to a positive change in restructuring cultural misconceptions and inter-generational conflicts.

 

[India Rising]

Thanks Rabzon to bring some sanity on forum....

 

[RabzonKhan]

Thanks Rabzon to bring some sanity on forum....

Well, that's exactly what ran through my mind when I started this Thread. lol

 

[AnGrz_Z_K_Jailer]

Thanks for a fantastic thread Rabzon ... I hope peace will prevail between two nations one day ...

P.S : Dont you think Sherry Rehman looks very old in above picture?

Regards
Jailer

 

[Evil Flare]

enough of this crap .. when will this end

 

[BATMAN]

It was Indian terroists who were shouting while shooting 'In ki nasal ko khatam kardo'

If any one living in Pakistan has illusion about Indians than he shall go work in middle-east for one year.

Simply... too much cable TV....

Pakistanis have already started speaking hindi words, next what?