ACHA PEACE BULLETIN http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin
A publication of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org
Editor: Pritam K. Rohila, Ph. D.
Subscription is free.
To SUBSCRIBE, email a request to ACHAPeaceBulletin-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email the request to ACHAPeaceBulletin-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
____________________________________________________________________________________
ACHA PEACE BULLETIN-Volume VI, No. 3, March 15, 2004, Next Issue April 15, 2004
CONTENTS
Peace & Harmony News From & About South Asia
Feature
Delhi Journey, Ayaz Amir, Dawn, 12 March 2004
A Visit To The Indian Punjab, Ishtiaq Ahmed, Daily Times, 1 February, 2004 Family Without Borders Wants Peace To Prevail, Bharat Bhushan, Indian Express, January 26, 2004
Letters
Peace In Motion, Sajid Bhombal
Books
Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique Of Spiritual Fascism, Kancha Ilaiah Samya
Call For Papers
July 5-9, Sopron, Hungary: The Peace Education Commission
Peace Educations & Training
May 5-9, Cluj-Napoca, Romania: From Gandhi To Modern Social And Political
Movements: Preparing For Nonviolent Actions In Practice
September 5-20, Kathmandu, Nepal: Fifth Orientation Course In South Asian
Slide Show
REPORTS & ANALYSES
(For a copy send a
blank email to pritamr@open.org with its subject as the UPPERCASE word in the article title. Please
limit your request to 3 articles. When requesting an article from an issue of
ACHA Peace Bulletin, other than the current one, please also mention date of
publication of that issue)
Bangladesh
Is this the Bangladesh we WANTED? The Daily Star, Zafar Sobhan, March 08, 2004
India
India SHINING, Communal Darkness, Asghar Ali Engineer, Secular Perspective Feb. 16-29, 2004
Nepal
Insurgency, DEVELOPMENT and Destruction, Dr. Lok Raj Baral, South Asia Intelligence Review,
January 26, 2004
ARMING the Children, P. G. Rajamohan, South Asia Intelligence Review, March 15, 2004
Pakistan
For U.S., Support Of Musharraf Is DELICATE Balance, Jay Solomon and Zahid Hussain, The Wall Street
Journal, March 11, 2004
Pakistan: Inside The Nuclear CLOSET, Pervez Hoodbhoy, www.opendemocracy.net, March 3, 2004
Sri Lanka
NOTES From the Field: The Far
Side of the World, Sharif M. Abdullah, March 12, 2004
Karuna or Prabhakaran: Who will SURVIVE? Bandula Jayasekara, South Asia Intelligence Review, March
15, 2004
______________________________________________________________________________________
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM & ABOUT SOUTH ASIA (Readers are invited to submit similar
information from other areas of South Asia to help us broaden of our coverage.
Please send the info to pritamr@open.org, a week before the date of publication of
the next issue of ACHA Peace Bulletin)
*Bhutan-India
Bhutan and India hold bilateral meeting on border management and security matters
During the first Bhutan-India bilateral meeting on border management and security matters in New Delhi on March 9 and 10, 2004, the Governments of India and Bhutan have reportedly identified several issues and initiated activities to strengthen security along the international border running through Assam and West Bengal, based on their mutual interests and concern. Both sides have also decided to set up an "institutional mechanism" between the home ministries to work out ways to improve coordination between district authorities on both sides of the border. The next border security meeting will be held in Thimphu. Kuensel Online, March 13, 2004.
*India-NE
Bru National Liberation Front delegation in Aizawl for talks with Mizoram Government
A six-member delegation of the Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) led by its 'president', Surajmani Reang, arrived in the Mizo capital, Aizawl, on January 28, to hold the tenth round of talks with the Mizoram Government. The delegation of the Bru Welfare Association (BWA) of Mizoram would also participate in the talks. Sentinel Assam, January 29, 2004
*Kashmir
Union Government and APHC agree to find 'durable solution' to Kashmir issue
On January 22, the leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, met in New Delhi and agreed to find a "honourable and durable solution" to the Kashmir problem through dialogue, hoping that all forms of violence at all levels would end. After the two-and-a-half-hour session between Advani and the Hurriyat delegation, led by its chairman, Maulana Abbas Ansari, and comprising Abdul Ghani Bhat, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Bilal Ghani Lone and Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi, the two sides expressed satisfaction that a "good beginning" had been made. Later, a joint statement was read out by Ghani Bhat, which stated that the discussions were "amicable, free, frank and fruitful.'' The joint statement said that the delegation was committed to enlarging the dialogue process to cover all regions of Jammu and Kashmir and addressing the concerns of all communities. Advani said that the Hurriyat leaders raised the issue of detenus languishing in jails and it was agreed to put systems in place for a "rapid review" of cases of prisoners not involved in heinous crimes. Clarifying on the need to enlarge the dialogue process, Advani said he told the delegation about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits living in pathetic conditions in camps outside the Valley for more than a decade. The next round of talks will be held in March. The Hindu, Daily Excelsior, January 23, 2004
Jammu & Kashmir Government announces surrender policy for terrorists
The Jammu & Kashmir Government has launched a new rehabilitation policy to facilitate the return of terrorists who are willing to surrender. The Chief Secretary said that under this rehabilitation scheme, the government would provide Rupees 150,000 as rehabilitation incentive in the shape of Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) that would be drawn only on completion of 3-years of normal life with good behavior after the surrender. For the sustenance of the surrendered terrorist, Rupees 2,000 would be paid as monthly stipend after the surrender. Daily Excelsior, February 1, 2004.
Don't violate rights: Mufti to army
The Jammu and Kashmir chief minister held the first ever high-level meeting to review the human rights situation in the state. http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/mar/04mukh.htm
Kashmir solution by yearend: Musharraf
Addressing the PoK Assembly in Muzaffarabad to mark the 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', he said the Indo-Pak dialogue process was expected to pick up steam after the Indian elections.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/05pak2.htm
Indian soldiers taught how to avoid rights abuse
Srinagar: Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross officials on March 4 taught Indian troops fighting separates in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir how to avoid human rights abuses following accusations that at least 17 people have died in their custody this year. Gulf News, March 5, 2004.
*Nepal
Soldiers punished for human rights abuses
Kathmandu: Snowed under by complaints of human rights violations and faced with increasing international displeasure on that score, the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) is getting its act together. A Major-General will try in general court martial (GCM) a Major who commanded security forces in Doramba, where forces reportedly killed “unarmed rebels” in cold blood. The Himalayan Times, March 12, 2004
*Nepal –India
Joint Working Group between India and Nepal on Border Management held in Kathmandu
The fifth meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between India and Nepal on border management, concluded on February 1 in Kathmandu. Both sides reiterated their commitments not to allow their respective territories to be used for activities directed against each other and to curb the terrorist activities along the border areas. Further views on the treaty of extradition and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters were also discussed in the meeting. Also the two sides have agreed to hold the JWG meeting once in six months and the district level coordination meetings every three months. Nepal News, February 1, 2004
India helping Nepal tackle insurgency
KATHMANDU: Reiterating that India had not
interfered in the internal affairs of its neighbour, Mr Saran said his country
believed that those supporting multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy
should unite for economic development and political stability in Nepal. Deepika Global February 6, 2004
*Pakistan-India
Indian team to go ahead with Pak
tour http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2004/feb/14pak.htm
India, Pakistan agree on 5-point agenda http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/18pak3.htm
Minister-level talks in July-August: Musharraf http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/18pak2.htm
Officials meet to discuss bus service
New Delhi: Indian and Pakistani officials will meet next week in Islamabad to discuss a cross-border bus service between Kokhrapar, Rajasthan and Munabao, Sind, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said here March 4. Gulf News, March 5, 2004.
Singer happy with Pakistan welcome
Mumbai: Top Indian Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, once a strong opponent of Pakistani artists performing in India, has changed his tune after staging live shows last month in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. Pleased with the warm welcome by Pakistani audiences, as a goodwill gesture, he donated $5,000 to legendary Pakistani singer Mehdi Hassan, who is battling a paralytic stroke. Gulf News, March 5, 2004.
Pakistan gets nod to open temporary visa office
New Delhi: India March 5 approved Islamabad’s request to set up a temporary visa office at Amritsar to facilitate the visit to Pakistan of people from that region for the forthcoming series of India-Pak cricket matches, scheduled to start March 13. Gulf News, March 6, 2004.
Pakistani businessmen get a taste of festival of colors
New Delhi: Over 100 visiting Pakistani businessmen March 6 had a taste of the intimacy sparked by the festival of Holi as they took part in it here, promising to take the relationship between the two countries beyond trade and economy. "Playing Holi here is truly overwhelming…The experience is simply moving, said leader of the visiting delegation Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed at Holi Milan organized by their hosts Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Gulf News, March 7, 2004.
Nation alerts India before missile test
Islamabad: Pakistan on March 9 test-fired the most advanced missile in its arsenal, capable of delivering a nuclear warhead deep inside India. But it made certain to inform India in advance, and the test was not expected to damage relations that rapidly are improving. Statesman Journal News Service, March 10, 2004.
Pak keen to buy rice from India http://in.rediff.com/money/2004/mar/09pak.htm
Eminent Indian writers in Pak literary meet
New Delhi: A group of eminent writers from India, including former prime minister V. P. Singh, will join top litterateurs from other SAARC countries in the first-ever week-long writers’ conference being held in Pakistan. The delegates are likely to focus on their role in a strife-torn world and the impact of their writings on politics, conflict situations, and social fabric and how to bring about reconciliation, peaceful coexistence, and mutual tolerance. India West, March 12, 2004.
India, Pakistan resume epic rivalry
Both countries hope the historic series will give new momentum to a fledgling peace process between the nuclear rivals. http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2004/mar/13epic.htm
More Indo-Pak matches in the offing, says Dalmiya
The BCCI president said apart from the Asia Cup, the Boards will revive the Asian Test Championship and also plan out Pakistan's tour of India next year. http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2004/mar/13dalmiya.htm
*Sri Lanka
Peace pledge in UPFA manifesto
COLOMBO: The United People's Freedom Alliance manifesto, which was
ceremonially released Thursday assured that the ceasefire with the LTTE would
stand and talks with the LTTE resumed on reasonable conditions. The manifesto
said that as an initial step to find a solution to the ethnic issue steps would
be taken to enter into a process of negotiations with the LTTE and other groups
to bring about a sustainable solution ensuring the rights of all communities.
Daily Mirror, March 12, 2004
FEATURE
*Delhi journey, Ayaz Amir, Dawn, 12 March 2004
I am a veteran of the Lahore-Delhi run,
the short journey most Pakistanis take when embarking on the often maddening,
sometimes exciting quest of discovering India. Short by air, that is. And
beguilingly short on the map. By train and bus it is a feat of endurance, not
to be attempted by the squeamish traveller..
How many times have I been in Delhi since
2000 and wished there was more to urban sprawl than a never-ending sea of
traffic? A modern purgatory is what the Indian capital most closely resembles
as the evening rush hour starts.
India at present is caught in a mood
defined by two slogans: "Shining India" and, its next-of-kin, the
"feel-good factor". India is supposed to be on a shining path of development
and its people are supposed to be feeling great about their current level of
well-being.
That at least is the prevailing mythology
and something which you have no reason to disbelieve if television, swank
hotels (real good ones) and the shopping malls of Gurgaon, the new city with
its big farmhouses which has sprung up on the road to Jaipur in south Delhi,
are your only windows on reality.
Never mind the decrepitude of Uttar Pradesh, the lawlessness endemic in parts
of Bihar and elsewhere in the north, or the 400 million Indians for whom
shining India is a bewitching image on a television screen.
Never mind bad cell phone connections
during the morning hours. "The travails of shining India," as a
friend wearily remarked when our cell conversation got cut the third time.
What would be the Pakistani equivalent of
"Shining India"? "Pakistan first," I suppose, the
quick-fire slogan designed to cover if not explain the belated dawning of
wisdom on questions ranging from Afghanistan to Kashmir.
Fuelling the "feel-good factor"
is a surge in middle class consumerism: cell phones, designer clothes, more TV
channels and, of course, more cars on the road, the phenomenon which gives
Delhi its purgatorial look.
Adding to the "feel-good
factor" is the new upsurge in relations with Pakistan. Like other things,
this too is credited to the wisdom of India's answer to Confucius, Atal Behari
Vajpayee.
If the BJP wins, this is the second
election the party would owe in some measure to Pakistan's military ruler, General
Musharraf, the first being the election in 1999 after Kargil. Vajpayee and his
party played the war card then, now it's the peace card. The BJP probably
doesn't realize it but it has a strong ally in Pakistan's military government.
Pakistan too should have the sense to
realize the advantages of dealing with the BJP. The BJP won't deliver anything
on a platter. So there's no room for any illusions on Kashmir or of a
breakthrough on any other front.
No point in forgetting that the subcontinent's leading quality is cussedness, a
genius for cultivating belligerence and stubborness often for no reason at all,
or for reasons hard to fathom.
But at least the BJP talks peace and
raises the peace flag from time to time, something which the Congress when in power,
in fear of being seen as soft on Pakistan, was unable to do.
The two parties are sprung from different
genes, a fact which tells on their outlook: the Congress secular but taking the
Muslim vote for granted and feeling more comfortable with a hard line on
Pakistan. The BJP peddling a frankly communal and obscurantist line but a bit
more sensible and pragmatic on Pakistan and, at least in this election, not
taking the Muslim vote for granted.
In a better world, the BJP's incipient
Nazism (let there be no doubts on this score, the RSS, the BJP's spiritual
parent, being a subcontinental variation of fascism) would be an opportunity
for Pakistan to look good in contrast, a chance to invite invidious comparisons
at India's expense.
But Pakistan, alas, went down the
obscurantist path much before India discovered the BJP. And since it is still
stuck there, unable or unwilling to map out a new journey, this opportunity
remains unfulfilled.
Pakistanis proclaim and often revel in
their country's strategic importance. They ignore the regional ghetto to which,
more by accident than design, their country has been reduced. Consider these
facts.
Although a neighbour, Iran is not on the
travel or mental path of most Pakistanis. Nor does it figure much in Pakistani calculations,
which is a pity considering that once both countries were close.
Afghanistan is a battleground and
therefore not much of a travel destination or a learning experience. It is also
the source of bitter memories. A generation of Pakistani generals sought
'strategic depth' in its bitter terrain, only to reap a harvest of pain and
frustration.
The wide arc to the north is blocked as
much by high mountains as continuing strife in Afghanistan. That leaves India.
The natural thing, sanctified by history and dictated by geography, would have
been for Pakistan and India to turn to each other.
It didn't happen this way for obvious
reasons. Partition and the bloodletting accompanying it left painful memories
behind. Both countries drifted into war over Kashmir. They fought another war
in '65, still another one in 1971.
Perhaps these were necessary wars, rites
of passage for both countries before they could emerge from the shadows and
leave the past behind. Not all the old fears have gone, not all the old
shibboleths completely demolished. Two generations of Indians and Pakistanis
grew up distrusting and demonizing each other. This legacy won't go away in a
hurry.
Even so, a lot has happened. Both
countries have moved on. The world around them is different too. This may not
call for friendship, a word there is no point in romanticizing. But at least it
calls for rewriting the old script of confrontation.
If Pakistanis were to see more of India
they would find their horizons expanding. They wouldn't be enamoured of India.
No danger of that happening. But, given a modicum of luck, they would realize
that whereas some of the hype behind "Shining India" owes more to the
advertising arts than anything more real, some of it is testimony to solid achievement.
India has moved ahead in certain fields.
Cyberabad, the computer centre of Hyderabad, I have seen from the outside and
it's a wonderful thing. I wish we had something of the sort in Pakistan.
Why is India the great centre of American
outsourcing? Why not Pakistan? Why hasn't Pakistan attracted foreign capital?
Why hasn't it focused on education and hi-tech medicine?
These are the things we should be
competing in. We should be paying more attention to education otherwise we'll
be left so far behind we'll have a hard time catching up.
Chandrababu Naidu has turned Hyderabad
around, no doubt about it. He has his critics but then which achiever doesn't?
In about eight years Hyderabad, once famous for its exquisite culture and
lordly ways, has been transformed into a centre of hi-tech industry. How did
Naidu do it? Not by waving a magic wand but by providing dependable
infra-structure. That and not the climate brought multinationals to Hyderabad.
This is what we should be doing instead
of frittering away our energies in aimless and stultifying pursuits. In
Pakistan it is not Islam in danger but good sense and rationality.
If the great white elephant that the
National Defence College in Islamabad is can somehow bring itself to do it, it
should make an India tour a compulsory part of its syllabus.
This would be an educative experience for
its students. This can be done on a reciprocal basis with budding Napoleons
from India visiting Pakistan. We need not be friends. Let's keep this for
another time. But at least let us try to be intelligent rivals.
*A visit to the Indian Punjab, Ishtiaq Ahmed,
Daily Times, Sunday, 1 February, 2004 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=story_1-2-2004_pg3_2
If the India-Pakistan border were
opened people would be able to get from the Jallianwala Bagh to Mozang in one
hour. Politics had slowed that journey by 56 years
The frontiers of Punjab have expanded and contracted along with the rise and fall
of kingdoms and empires, but the experience of sealed, impassable international
borders dates only from 1947 onwards.
I am sure I am not the only Punjabi who grew up wondering about what lies on
the other side. I knew that the people ‘there’ spoke Punjabi and were
predominantly Hindus and Sikhs. That did not mean much for someone born the
same year that India was partitioned, although the Hindu and Sikh names of many
streets, roads, buildings, localities and hospitals were testimony to their
once very prominent presence in Lahore. We did get to see Sikhs occasionally
when they came to visit their holy shrines in our part of the Punjab, but
Hindus we ‘knew’ only from watching old Indian films, which continued to be
shown until the September 1965 war.
After living in Sweden for a long time and acquiring
Swedish citizenship, I began a long struggle to convince the officials of the
Indian embassy in Stockholm that my interest in visiting India was most
honourable and that I was not aiming to harm their country. By the late 1980s I
had established myself as a bona fide political scientist at the Stockholm
University and in the process established collegial relations with several
Indian scholars. Their good word in my favour finally helped me get the visa in
1992.
However, only in October 2001 did I finally embark upon a journey that took me
to Chandigarh and Amritsar. On October 23 I gave a lecture on ‘India-Pakistan
Peace: Do Punjabis have a Special Responsibility?’ at the Political Science
Department of Punjab University, Chandigarh (the sister institution of my alma
mater in Lahore, although they have no contacts with each other!). Originally
scheduled for an hour, the discussion went on for several. It was pointed out
in the welcome address that I was the first Pakistani academic ever to visit
them.
I gave the formal lecture in English, but during the
discussion which followed the conversation gradually shifted to Punjabi. I
remember a young teacher, Miss Sharma, remarking that I should have delivered
the lecture in Punjabi, because it sounded more genuine and chaste. Everybody
seemed to agree with her. To my great surprise a section of the crowd thought I
spoke the ‘real’ Punjabi. It turned out that these people, including Miss
Sharma, originated from west Punjab, but like millions of other refugees their
parents or they themselves had crossed into India during the riots. They began
to identify with me in a special manner.
It need not be emphasised that my thesis that Punjabis have a special
responsibility not to allow another war to be fought between India and Pakistan
on their soil carried the day easily. However, my host Professor Bhupinder Brar
commented from a realist perspective and told us that the suspicion and fear on
both sides about the other side’s intentions should not be excluded from the
analysis. We had no difficulty in accepting his thesis, too.
Meeting Professor Randhir Singh who was an active
Communist in Lahore before partition held a special attraction for me during
this trip. Also present was Professor Harkishen Singh Mehta, originally from
Rawalpindi, who agreed with most of my arguments in favour of Punjabi
responsibility.
The next day I left for Amritsar, choosing to travel
by bus so as to catch some glimpses of the other Punjab. We left at about half
past four in the afternoon but after about an hour the bus broke down. The
passengers were told that they could either wait until help arrived or take
some other bus. Our tickets were signed by the conductor, which meant that we
would not have to pay extra fare. However, twilight had started receding by
that time and the prospects of spending the night in the wilderness on an
Indian highway began to bother me.
At that time terrorists were active on both sides of
the Punjab and my Pakistani origin (notwithstanding my Swedish passport) and
Muslim name could rouse all sorts of suspicions; I knew that the Punjab police
on both sides was notorious for its brutality. It made me nervous, and my
misery aggravated when no bus would stop to pick up passengers. There was a
town close by and most passengers opted to go there instead. Soon very few of
us were left standing by the road. By now the evening had turned into a
pitch-black Punjabi night.
I was indeed a very worried man who was not willing to
reveal his predicament to anyone. Suddenly a mechanic of the bus company
arrived and within half an hour we were on the way to Amritsar. Just before we
entered Jallundhar the bus stopped at a crossing. Looking out of the window I
saw a banner, ‘Hafizabad Sweats Shop’. An old gentleman was sitting at the
counter. Here, I thought, was another west Punjabi proudly displaying the name
of his original hometown.
At about nine o’clock we arrived in Amritsar. I made
arrangements with the rickshaw driver that he should collect me from my hotel
at four o’clock in the morning and take me to the Golden Temple. I wanted to
witness the early morning ceremony when the Guru Granth Saheb is brought to the
main hall. After attending the ceremony I walked to the Jallianwala Bagh which
is only some hundred metres away and spent some time quietly meditating over
what happened there on April 13, 1919.
I then took the taxi to the Atari border, which is
opposite the Wagah border on the Pakistani side. It took exactly 25 minutes. I
remember that once we had travelled from Wagah to Mozang in Lahore by car in 35
minutes. If the India-Pakistan border were opened people would be able to get
from the Jallianwala Bagh to Mozang in one hour.
Politics had slowed that journey by 56 years and I
wondered how many more years had to be suffered before the old Punjab could
normalise. One thing was clear to me that the old type of closed borders will
not last for long and the people of the two Punjabs will sooner or later
re-establish their age-old cultural links.
The author is an associate professor of Political Science at Stockholm
University. He is the author of two books. His email address is Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se
*Family
without borders wants peace to prevail, Bharat Bhushan, Indian Express,
January 26, 2004
Born
to Muslim parents and brought up by a Hindu, she makes no distinctions, says
she’s daughter to both
Jammu,
January 25; in Talab Khatikan, 62-yyear-old Salima Begum is watching the talks
between New Delhi and Hurriyat carefully. She was barely five when she
lost 25 members of her family in the Partition. A Hindu rescued her and
brought her up, now nanaji to her five daughters and son.
I was
born to Muslim parents, but brought up by a Hindu, she says, I am daughter to
both. Salima says the Hurriyat and India must call truce, like the one
continuing on the Indo-Pak broder, to avoid further bloodshed.
I was
five years of age when my mother, three brothers, two sisters, two aunts, their
eight or nine children, a maternal uncle, his wife, and their children were
killed in violence at the time of Partition, she said,
asserting, Who else can know better how destructive violence is?
Salimas
father Mohammad Din, mother Zainab Bi, and uncles Ismail & Ibrahim and
Nazir lived In Ding near Mansar in Sambha.
None
of the women survived. In the riots that followed, Din and his brothers fled to
Pakistan and settled at Dusky in Sialkot, leaving Salima behind. Seven years
later Din came to Sambaa looking for her. She can still see the tears in her
fathers eyes when he saw 12-year-old alive and well at the house of Zildar
Dhani Ram at Ding. Dhani later married her off to a Muslim boy.
Salimas
uncles are in Pakistan, but she can go only when the Suchetgarh-Sialkot Road in
Jammu is opened. This, Salima says, should be considered along with resuming
the bus services on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road.
Her
son Nazir knows little difference between nanaji and his grandfather across the
border.
For me
both are same as we got love and affection at Dhanis home just as any child
gets at his nanihal (mothers house). If only the Hurriyat and countries on both
side of the border thought likewise.
Let
both sides find out how to end it so that the innocents in Jammu and Kashmir
maay not have to suffer anymore, Nazir says.
LETTERS
*Peace
in motion, Sajid Bhombal sajid@bhombal.ws
Peace
is not static, it is a motion... Today's India-Pakistan match at Karachi is the
best example of
peace in motion..
Atmospherics
in the stadium was simply superb..if Indians and Pakistanis behave in the
spririt as the
spectators at the stadium behaved today, there could never be any problem
between the two countries..
It is not only best quality cricket which is moving peace here, there are whole
bunch of side-track
activities like easy issuance of visa, more buses, more trains, more planes,
Indian mobile services providing roaming service in Pakistan etc etc just add
to, dare I say, the feel good factor.
A
closely concluded match was a fitting tribute to these remarkably welcome
pleasant atmospherics.
Inshallah, this series continues in this spirit and these atmospherics continue
beyond the Indian cricket
tour of Pakistan.
I must
say that I really appreciate the Karachites for such a fantastic show.
BOOKS
*Cost
of Conflict Between India and Pakistan, Ilmas Futehally and Semu Bhatt,
Strategic Foresight Group www.strategicforesight.com (C-306 Montana,
Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri West, Mumbai 400 053, India publications@peacein.com ), ISBN 81-88262-04-8,
2004, Paperback, Pages 105, Rs. 625 (Abroad, U.S. $30)
Led
by the able and untiring president, Sundeep Waslekar, Strategic Foresight Group
"a scenario planning think tank" set up by International Center for
Peace Initiatives has come up with Cost of Conflict Between India and Pakistan,
yet another insightful publication.
First
four chapters are devoted to discussion of one category of costs each –
military, social-political, economic, and diplomatic. A chapter on costs for
Jammu & Kashmir follows. In the next chapter, the authors describe how
things can escalate to a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. Chapter 7
details likely effects of nuclear attacks on India and Pakistan. The final
chapter presents a realistic plan for conflict resolution and peace building
between the two neighbors.
Loaded
with facts, statistics and graphic illustrations, the book will be immensely
useful not only to students of South Asia, but also to government officials,
political leaders, and peace activists.
According
to the preface by Sundeep Waslekar, "Our document aims to provide a
comprehensive view of past, present and even future cost of conflict between
India and Pakistan," so that "the relevant decision makers can assess
if they want to continue on the path of peace or risk a conflict when they face
hurdles."
Ambassador
Niaz A. Naik, one of Pakistan’s most distinguished diplomats, who has written
the book’s foreword, has remarked, "This document is of exceptional
quality in its comprehensive coverage and analytical strengths. It is the first
time that we have such all encompassing information and analysis in one place on
the implications of adversarial relationship between India and Pakistan."
*Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique Of Spiritual Fascism, Kancha Ilaiah Samya, Rs. 200; Pages 200 (From a review by Soma Wadhwa, Outlook [India], Mar 15, 2004)
A collection of published newspapers articles by author and activist in the
Dalit-Bahujan movement Kancha Ilaiah provide yet another ferocious indictment
of Hindu Brahminism. “Despite his predictability, though, Ilaiah's writing has
a fervour and intellectual rigour that makes this book an engaging read. It
pushes one into taking note of Ilaiah's perspective on what has gone into
making India an unjust nation
for the Dalit-Bahujans. The cow, not the buffalo, Ilaiah argues, is worshipped.
Because, though both give milk, the cow is white, as were the Aryans. So, it
made sense for the Aryans to spin a philosophy
around "white being good", and black, the colour of the Dravidians
(and the "low castes"), being
bad.” …Ilaiah's vision of an equal world includes more palpable issues for the
Dalit-Bahujans: the right to
conversion, the need to be taught English, reservations in education and
employment.”
CALL FOR PAPERS
*July 5-9, Sopron, Hungary: THE PEACE EDUCATION COMMISSION (PEC) of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) invites submissions for its 2004 conference. The theme of the conference is "Pathways to Peace: Educational Issues in the Context of Globalization". The deadline for receipt of paper submissions is February 15th, 2004. For more information about the conference, see details at: http://www.human.mie-u.ac.jp/~peace.
PEACE EDUCATIONS &
TRAINING
*May 5-9, Cluj-Napoca, Romania: FROM GANDHI TO MODERN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS: PREPARING FOR NONVIOLENT ACTIONS IN PRACTICE. Applications are invited by April 9 from those who require visas, and by April 26 from those who do not require visas for this five-day international training program organized by the Romanian Peace Institute (PATRIR) in cooperation with Transcend Peace University Global Center (www.transcend.org/tpu). “The programme will be devoted to preparing for non-violent direct actions in the concrete context/setting of your work and community, and will help to weave together a network of practitioners across the continent. Focus on how to build a good group atmosphere, make decisions, avoiding violence in stressed situations, communication skills, preparing for actions, evaluations, reducing fear, building trust, and making good strategies will be central to the programme.” Cost of participation (including accommodation, breakfast and lunch as well as all course fees) is 250 Euros for EU, North American and South-East Asian/Australian participants, and 175 Euros for all others. Assistance for travel and arrival in Romania will be provided by the Romanian Peace Institute. For on-line registration, visit www.transcend.org More info from the program coordinator, Alex Moldovan Alex@patrir.ro
*September 5-20, Kathmandu, Nepal:
FIFTH ORIENTATION COURSE IN SOUTH ASIAN PEACE STUDIES of the South Asia
Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) invites applications by 15 April 2004 from peace
and human rights activists, media persons, researchers, academics studies, and
policy makers.
The course has two components -
distance education in human rights and peace from July 1 to August 31, and a direct orientation course in peace
studies to be held in Kathmandu from 5 September to 20 September, 2004.
Registration fee for South Asian participants is US $ 100 (or its equivalent in
Nepali Rupee) and participants from outside the region US $ 400. Participants
will have to look for their own
funding for travel. SAFHR will assist deserving participants from South Asia to
obtain travel
supports from other donor agencies. Select course material for the selected
candidates will be
provided by SAFHR. Board and lodging is also provided. The age limit for
participation is (35)
years. More info from Peace Studies Desk, South Asia Forum for Human Rights (www.safhr.org),
3/23, Shree Durbar Tole, Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur, Kathamndu, Nepal; GPO Box
12855, Tel: 977-1-5541026; Fax: 5527852, E-mail peacestudies@safhr.org.
SLIDE SHOW
Trading colour, not bullets
Over 100 visiting Pakistani
businessmen March 6 had a taste of the intimacy sparked by the festival of Holi
as they took part in it in New Delhi, promising to take the relationship
between the two countries beyond trade and economy. "Playing Holi here is
truly overwhelming…The experience is simply moving, said leader of the visiting
delegation Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed at Holi Milan organized by their hosts
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. http://specials.rediff.com/money/2004/mar/08sld1.htm