(The News International, May 19, 2005)
The India-Pakistan peace march continues
Sandeep Pandey
The India-Pakistan Peace March from Delhi to Multan is symbolically over, but the Indian participants are leaving quite dissatisfied at not being allowed to march within the country. It was quite embarrassing to be talking about disarmament but moving around under heavy armed security cover, always accompanied by a police jeep, even though obviously, this was for security reasons. Some of the hosts within Pakistan were also uncomfortable with this. However, it was either this curtailed and restricted visit, or none at all.
Marchers from both countries had trouble crossing over into the other country to participate in the march. Both governments delayed granting visas to marchers from the other side, but the Indian government finally did grant visas for all 12 districts that fell on the route; the Pakistani government granted visas only for the cities of Lahore and Multan. It is another matter that the Pakistani marchers could not use their visas for all places, because of the further delays caused by the Pakistani government in granting them permission to cross the Wagha border on foot. By the time they crossed into India, the march was in the last district, Amritsar.
On the positive side, while the Pakistani marchers were walking on the road for five days in India, there was no police accompanying us, which can be considered an achievement of the march.
It is an ironic that whereas both governments created hurdles in the path of peace-lovers from the two countries, L. K. Advani, the mastermind behind the rise of communal politics in India, is soon going to be a state guest of the government of Pakistan.
What this means is that the peace activists who labour to change the relationship of animosity between the two nations over the last 57 years and are mobilising the public support in favour of a friendly and peaceful relationship between India and Pakistan are discouraged at every step. On the other hand, the man whose party brought the two nations to the brink of nuclear war and whose followers indulged in the worst carnage in independent India, in Gujarat, will be enjoying government hospitality in Pakistan.
This only reflects the misplaced priorities of the governments.
Many in India are fighting to free Indian politics of the forces which are a threat to democratic polity, and find it discouraging that their neighbouring nation chooses to honour the leader of these regressive forces. Even opponents of US policy appreciated the American denial of a visa to Narendra Modi, a step that definitely discredits these forces. Many in India admire Pervez Musharraf for his steps to check fundamentalist forces in Pakistan, but they also expect him to help the Indian people in controlling such forces in their country.
The peace march received a very positive response from the many people's representatives they met. The Nazim of Lahore, Mian Amir Mehmood, granted permission for the peace march to take place within the city and allowed participants to plant a sapling that Professor Rameek Mohan, one of the marchers from India, had brought from Rohtak, as a symbol of peace and friendship.
MNA Rana Tariq Javed was present to welcome us at a small function in Sahiwal on our way to Multan. The local Nazim and the SSP, Khuda Bux Malik, were also present here. In Chichawatni the local Nazim welcomed us. In Multan, MNA Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi, who happens to be the Sajjada Nashin of the Dargah of Bahauddin Zakaria, almost echoed our sentiments in his speech and granted us permission to move about freely in Multan, where we planted another Indian sapling at the City Council Hall. Back in Lahore, we were hosted in the Punjab Assembly by opposition leader Qasim Zia.
The people's representatives compensated for the negative attitude shown by the Pakistani government towards the peace march. Clearly, the movement for democracy will have to be strengthened if pro-people initiatives are allowed to take place freely here. The peace movements on either side should strengthen the democratisation process in both Pakistan and India; they are already resolved to continue pushing forward the agenda for peace and friendship between the two countries. At the level of the common people this is the most important democratic issue in the context of bilateral relationship.
The original plan had been to organise a joint peace march of activists from both countries. But that remains unfinished. Although in their meeting Pervez Musharraf and Manmohan Singh used language hitherto used by peace activists, the two governments did not cooperate fully in facilitating the peace march.
The activists are determined to return to finish this march next year. Hopefully by then the governments will have realised the advantages of letting such an activity take place.
The writer is a prominent social activist based in Lucknow, who led the Indian peace marchers
May 18, 2005
March for peace (Beena Sarwar)
(Kashmir Times - May 17, 2005)
March for peace
by Beena Sarwar
Mazher Hussain from Hyderabad, India, has a dream that many others share. The energetic peace activist dreams of the time when people from India and Pakistan can walk together on public roads in each other's countries. When he first talked about this peace march idea during a visit to Karachi over a year ago, the first thing that came to mind was the difficulties of such an exercise. Visas... security... organisation (lack of, especially in Pakistan where the grassroots or community organisations are not as strong as in India)...
But Mazher, who heads a confederation of voluntary organisations (COVA), was not to be daunted. It would be like a relay of marchers, heaid, with a core group walking the entire distance, while local organisations would prepare the ground for their meetings at the villages and towns they would pass on their way. "It is doable, and
it will work. You will see," he insisted.
A year later, Mazher is part of the dozen peace marchers from India that Pakistan finally granted visas to (out of the 70 who applied) and allowed to cross into the country on foot for the final leg of the march. They had reached the border on April 18, and waited there
until the permission arrived on May 7.
The group includes the young activist filmmaker Monica Wahi, who moved from Delhi to Ahmedabad after the Gujarat communal riots (carnage, rather, as the Indian human rights groups labelled them) and took up residence in an apartment block there in her quest to help the affected women. Supported by other women's groups, she set up a system for them to be able to earn their own livelihood by making and selling readymade garments, simultaneously promoting traditional hand-loom, dying and block-printing methods.
Led by the veteran and respected social activist Dr Sandeep Pandey, the Indian delegation has not been allowed to 'march' in Pakistan but only to drive, due to 'security reasons' according to the Pakistani authorities. It is odd that thousands of Indians and Pakistanis can be allowed to roam on public roads and markets in each other's countries if they are ostensibly there to see a cricket match, but not if they are explicitly making the trip to promote the cause of peace.
Still, the very fact that they are here at all is testimony to their persistence and patience, and that of their fellow peace activists on either side of the border.
The march began on March 23 in Delhi, at the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. India granted special visas to only nine Pakistanis (out of the 70 who applied), listing the cities they would be passing through on the journey. However, at the last minute, the Pakistani authorities prevented them from crossing into India on foot. At the inaugural of the march, meanwhile, the presence of celebrities like the Indian director Mahesh Bhatt and the Pakistani film actress Meera (one of the three Pakistanis present there) ensured a fair amount of media coverage for the walk.
Meanwhile hectic efforts to secure permission for the other Pakistanis to join the Indian marchers continued, and on April 9, Pakistan finally allowed nine of them, including four women, to walk across the Wagah border to join their Indian friends who by then had reached the River Beas. The Pakistani women included Lali Kohli, the
courageous former bonded labourer from Sindh who recently won her freedom, and young Nayyar Habib of the Labour Party.
The insistence on crossing the border on foot has political significance. It highlights the fact that the Indian and Pakistani governments normally restrict visitors from each other's countries to trains, airplanes and buses, which is far more time-consuming and expensive. Visa holders are restricted to the entry and exit points stipulated on their visa applications -you can't change your mind later and return to Karachi from Bombay if your visa application has Delhi as the exit point.
The peace march ended on May 11, the seventh anniversary of the Indian nuclear tests. Interestingly, the marchers' arrival in Lahore coincided with the authorities removing the replica of the Chaghi hills from in front of the railway station - followed by the
clarification that the move is being made for 'repairs', a convenient escape route in case the hawks become louder than the doves.
As for the doves, the reception in Pakistan has been 'amazing', says Monica. Large numbers of people turned up to greet the marchers, from Lahore, to Sahiwal, to Chichawatni and Multan. "It was beyond all expectations, even of the local organisers," she adds. "Isn't it a great injustice for the governments to not allow us to walk as we had asked? To keep people apart who want to meet? Is this why they didn't give us permission to walk, they were afraid of this huge response?" The organisers also raise the very valid question of how Pakistan hopes to host the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Social Forum in Karachi, January 2006, for which the Prime Minister has promised full support, noting that after all, he also promised full support to the 150 peace marchers -a far smaller number than the 20,000 expected for the Social Forum.
-(Courtesy: The News)
March for peace
by Beena Sarwar
Mazher Hussain from Hyderabad, India, has a dream that many others share. The energetic peace activist dreams of the time when people from India and Pakistan can walk together on public roads in each other's countries. When he first talked about this peace march idea during a visit to Karachi over a year ago, the first thing that came to mind was the difficulties of such an exercise. Visas... security... organisation (lack of, especially in Pakistan where the grassroots or community organisations are not as strong as in India)...
But Mazher, who heads a confederation of voluntary organisations (COVA), was not to be daunted. It would be like a relay of marchers, heaid, with a core group walking the entire distance, while local organisations would prepare the ground for their meetings at the villages and towns they would pass on their way. "It is doable, and
it will work. You will see," he insisted.
A year later, Mazher is part of the dozen peace marchers from India that Pakistan finally granted visas to (out of the 70 who applied) and allowed to cross into the country on foot for the final leg of the march. They had reached the border on April 18, and waited there
until the permission arrived on May 7.
The group includes the young activist filmmaker Monica Wahi, who moved from Delhi to Ahmedabad after the Gujarat communal riots (carnage, rather, as the Indian human rights groups labelled them) and took up residence in an apartment block there in her quest to help the affected women. Supported by other women's groups, she set up a system for them to be able to earn their own livelihood by making and selling readymade garments, simultaneously promoting traditional hand-loom, dying and block-printing methods.
Led by the veteran and respected social activist Dr Sandeep Pandey, the Indian delegation has not been allowed to 'march' in Pakistan but only to drive, due to 'security reasons' according to the Pakistani authorities. It is odd that thousands of Indians and Pakistanis can be allowed to roam on public roads and markets in each other's countries if they are ostensibly there to see a cricket match, but not if they are explicitly making the trip to promote the cause of peace.
Still, the very fact that they are here at all is testimony to their persistence and patience, and that of their fellow peace activists on either side of the border.
The march began on March 23 in Delhi, at the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. India granted special visas to only nine Pakistanis (out of the 70 who applied), listing the cities they would be passing through on the journey. However, at the last minute, the Pakistani authorities prevented them from crossing into India on foot. At the inaugural of the march, meanwhile, the presence of celebrities like the Indian director Mahesh Bhatt and the Pakistani film actress Meera (one of the three Pakistanis present there) ensured a fair amount of media coverage for the walk.
Meanwhile hectic efforts to secure permission for the other Pakistanis to join the Indian marchers continued, and on April 9, Pakistan finally allowed nine of them, including four women, to walk across the Wagah border to join their Indian friends who by then had reached the River Beas. The Pakistani women included Lali Kohli, the
courageous former bonded labourer from Sindh who recently won her freedom, and young Nayyar Habib of the Labour Party.
The insistence on crossing the border on foot has political significance. It highlights the fact that the Indian and Pakistani governments normally restrict visitors from each other's countries to trains, airplanes and buses, which is far more time-consuming and expensive. Visa holders are restricted to the entry and exit points stipulated on their visa applications -you can't change your mind later and return to Karachi from Bombay if your visa application has Delhi as the exit point.
The peace march ended on May 11, the seventh anniversary of the Indian nuclear tests. Interestingly, the marchers' arrival in Lahore coincided with the authorities removing the replica of the Chaghi hills from in front of the railway station - followed by the
clarification that the move is being made for 'repairs', a convenient escape route in case the hawks become louder than the doves.
As for the doves, the reception in Pakistan has been 'amazing', says Monica. Large numbers of people turned up to greet the marchers, from Lahore, to Sahiwal, to Chichawatni and Multan. "It was beyond all expectations, even of the local organisers," she adds. "Isn't it a great injustice for the governments to not allow us to walk as we had asked? To keep people apart who want to meet? Is this why they didn't give us permission to walk, they were afraid of this huge response?" The organisers also raise the very valid question of how Pakistan hopes to host the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Social Forum in Karachi, January 2006, for which the Prime Minister has promised full support, noting that after all, he also promised full support to the 150 peace marchers -a far smaller number than the 20,000 expected for the Social Forum.
-(Courtesy: The News)
May 12, 2005
Credit where credit is due (Kamran Shafi)
(Daily Times,May 12, 2005)
Credit where credit is due
by Kamran Shafi
What kind of good governance do we have in the Mother of All Provinces if the government of the Great Chaudhry cannot provide protection to our guests within his own fiefdom?
There are just so many people in the world who fight for an ideal for no other reason but that it is an ideal, and because it is for the good of humanity; there are very few in the world who have such courage of their convictions that they will stand up against the strongest of the state apparatus and say the truth no matter what. Those who are in the vanguard of peace movements across the world are among those we speak about, the Indian subcontinent producing two outstanding examples: our own Karamat Ali of PILER, and the Magsaysay Award 2002 winner Sandeep Pandey of the Indian NGO, Asha (Hope).
It was so good receiving the India-Pakistan Peace March led by Sandeep Pandey at Wagah on Saturday last in the company of Karamat Ali and friends; it was so heartening to see ordinary, lay people, both Indian and Pakistani, so taken up with peace between their countries that they braved with good humour the hot sun for hours on end while bureaucratic procedures took their twisted, and long, and painful paths. It was so gratifying indeed, to see dedicated people like Sandeep, the moving spirit from the Indian side and Karamat from ours, give so much of themselves to amity and understanding. More than anything, it was great to see Sandeep’s young children, Chaitanya, eight, and Anandi, five, march with the rest!
That is what brought tears to my eyes, to see the little ones marching for peace: what memories these young children will carry all their lives, of being part at their tender ages of a march which attempted to talk some sense to two poverty-ridden but completely senseless countries, both of which possessed the ultimate in weapons of mass destruction but the mass of whose people lived in abject poverty.
It wasn’t easy for this march to proceed, we must note, both governments making it as hard as they could, ours excelling the other side. While the Indians delayed for 10 days the issuance of visas to the Pakistani marchers who were to cross into India to accompany the Indian marchers into Pakistan, the Pakistan government did not allow the Pakistanis to cross the border on foot to join their counterparts for another 13. Once these issues had been resolved and the Pakistanis had crossed over and joined their co-marchers in Beas, the Pakistan government delayed issuing visas to the Indians to cross into Pakistan for a further 19 days. Looks sort of even thus far, this negativism, doesn’t it? So how did we excel? By issuing only 12 visas to the Indian marchers while India issued 22 to ours.
It has to be put on record too that whilst India allowed Pakistani marchers to march alongside the Indians from Beas to Amritsar, we did not allow the Indians to march alongside Pakistani marchers from Lahore to Multan. They have now gone to Multan by motor transport. The reason that the authorities have put forward is the presence of extremists who could pose a threat to the Indian marchers. Permission was not granted despite the organisers taking full responsibility for their Indian guests.
A fob-off on the part of the government if you ask me: for we all know that the cowards who kill the unarmed and the weak would not dare attack hundreds of high profile peace activists. Moreover, what kind of good governance do we have in the Mother of All Provinces if the government of the Great Chaudhry cannot provide protection to our guests within his own fiefdom?
Sorry for boring you, gentle reader, but it is important to point out the fault-lines in this peace process so that the leaders spearheading it, even if they are half-way serious, can take corrective measures to identify the stumbling blocks, be they inflexible and pig-headed bureaucrats or stupid and arcane rules and regulations. Indeed who could find anything wrong with the declaration that the marchers are carrying with them and which 7,000 ordinary, poor Indians have signed during the march from Delhi to Amritsar:
“We support India-Pakistan Peace March and demand:
“1. India and Pakistan should resolve their disputes through peaceful dialogue. The Kashmir problem should be solved considering the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“2. India and Pakistan should abolish their nuclear weapons, and remove the armed forces and landmines across the border. The defence budgets should be reduced and resources should be directed towards development of the poor of both countries.
“3. Travelling across the border should be made easy for citizens of both sides and non-visa entry to both countries should be allowed.”
All of the people who signed the declaration also said they did not want their government to buy F-16s or F-18s. “We want the money saved spent on schools, dispensaries, sanitation and potable drinking water, not more weapons”, they all said. Needless to point out, their counterparts on this side of the border have like feelings.
All in all, the march is a laudable effort by all concerned that should be supported by each one of us in whatever way we can. Every little bit helps: a letter to the editor of a newspaper; an email to the Big General who is so very web-savvy; a ‘phone call to the interior minister’s office — anything at all. What today is a small snowflake can tomorrow snowball into an avalanche: of peace, amity and understanding.
This article about the good people of the peace march will not be complete without a mention of the Buddhist Monk Tenzin Rigzin. Dressed in his simple orange and yellow robes, wearing rubber chappals, carrying a small backpack, Tenzin Rigzin was humility and meekness itself. Hanging at the back of the march, out of the limelight, out of the sight of press cameras, bowing low with hands joined together in the traditional Buddhist greeting to everyone who approached, and beating a small hide-covered drum was Tenzin Rigzin. Over and over, softly; again and again. This was his peace drum and he was not about to get tired beating it. Incidentally, Tenzin Rigzin was one of those who appealed to ‘Prime Minister’ Shaukat Aziz for expediting their visas while they waited at the border for a week and more, to no avail of course.
A short note about the influence ‘Prime Minister’ Shaukat Aziz has over the regime he nominally heads: whilst he promised representatives of the peace-marchers when they met him in Karachi some months ago that the Indians would get a 150 visas, they ended up getting only 12! And those too much delayed. Good reason for him to reconsider his position if you ask me, and resign. Also, reason for all future requests to do with the government to be routed to the Big General himself: poor old Shaukat Aziz being neither here nor there. Seems to me his ‘prime ministry’ will be shorter lived than poor old Jamali’s! Any bets? I am good for Rs 10 any time.
[...].
Kamran Shafi is a freelance columnist
Credit where credit is due
by Kamran Shafi
What kind of good governance do we have in the Mother of All Provinces if the government of the Great Chaudhry cannot provide protection to our guests within his own fiefdom?
There are just so many people in the world who fight for an ideal for no other reason but that it is an ideal, and because it is for the good of humanity; there are very few in the world who have such courage of their convictions that they will stand up against the strongest of the state apparatus and say the truth no matter what. Those who are in the vanguard of peace movements across the world are among those we speak about, the Indian subcontinent producing two outstanding examples: our own Karamat Ali of PILER, and the Magsaysay Award 2002 winner Sandeep Pandey of the Indian NGO, Asha (Hope).
It was so good receiving the India-Pakistan Peace March led by Sandeep Pandey at Wagah on Saturday last in the company of Karamat Ali and friends; it was so heartening to see ordinary, lay people, both Indian and Pakistani, so taken up with peace between their countries that they braved with good humour the hot sun for hours on end while bureaucratic procedures took their twisted, and long, and painful paths. It was so gratifying indeed, to see dedicated people like Sandeep, the moving spirit from the Indian side and Karamat from ours, give so much of themselves to amity and understanding. More than anything, it was great to see Sandeep’s young children, Chaitanya, eight, and Anandi, five, march with the rest!
That is what brought tears to my eyes, to see the little ones marching for peace: what memories these young children will carry all their lives, of being part at their tender ages of a march which attempted to talk some sense to two poverty-ridden but completely senseless countries, both of which possessed the ultimate in weapons of mass destruction but the mass of whose people lived in abject poverty.
It wasn’t easy for this march to proceed, we must note, both governments making it as hard as they could, ours excelling the other side. While the Indians delayed for 10 days the issuance of visas to the Pakistani marchers who were to cross into India to accompany the Indian marchers into Pakistan, the Pakistan government did not allow the Pakistanis to cross the border on foot to join their counterparts for another 13. Once these issues had been resolved and the Pakistanis had crossed over and joined their co-marchers in Beas, the Pakistan government delayed issuing visas to the Indians to cross into Pakistan for a further 19 days. Looks sort of even thus far, this negativism, doesn’t it? So how did we excel? By issuing only 12 visas to the Indian marchers while India issued 22 to ours.
It has to be put on record too that whilst India allowed Pakistani marchers to march alongside the Indians from Beas to Amritsar, we did not allow the Indians to march alongside Pakistani marchers from Lahore to Multan. They have now gone to Multan by motor transport. The reason that the authorities have put forward is the presence of extremists who could pose a threat to the Indian marchers. Permission was not granted despite the organisers taking full responsibility for their Indian guests.
A fob-off on the part of the government if you ask me: for we all know that the cowards who kill the unarmed and the weak would not dare attack hundreds of high profile peace activists. Moreover, what kind of good governance do we have in the Mother of All Provinces if the government of the Great Chaudhry cannot provide protection to our guests within his own fiefdom?
Sorry for boring you, gentle reader, but it is important to point out the fault-lines in this peace process so that the leaders spearheading it, even if they are half-way serious, can take corrective measures to identify the stumbling blocks, be they inflexible and pig-headed bureaucrats or stupid and arcane rules and regulations. Indeed who could find anything wrong with the declaration that the marchers are carrying with them and which 7,000 ordinary, poor Indians have signed during the march from Delhi to Amritsar:
“We support India-Pakistan Peace March and demand:
“1. India and Pakistan should resolve their disputes through peaceful dialogue. The Kashmir problem should be solved considering the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“2. India and Pakistan should abolish their nuclear weapons, and remove the armed forces and landmines across the border. The defence budgets should be reduced and resources should be directed towards development of the poor of both countries.
“3. Travelling across the border should be made easy for citizens of both sides and non-visa entry to both countries should be allowed.”
All of the people who signed the declaration also said they did not want their government to buy F-16s or F-18s. “We want the money saved spent on schools, dispensaries, sanitation and potable drinking water, not more weapons”, they all said. Needless to point out, their counterparts on this side of the border have like feelings.
All in all, the march is a laudable effort by all concerned that should be supported by each one of us in whatever way we can. Every little bit helps: a letter to the editor of a newspaper; an email to the Big General who is so very web-savvy; a ‘phone call to the interior minister’s office — anything at all. What today is a small snowflake can tomorrow snowball into an avalanche: of peace, amity and understanding.
This article about the good people of the peace march will not be complete without a mention of the Buddhist Monk Tenzin Rigzin. Dressed in his simple orange and yellow robes, wearing rubber chappals, carrying a small backpack, Tenzin Rigzin was humility and meekness itself. Hanging at the back of the march, out of the limelight, out of the sight of press cameras, bowing low with hands joined together in the traditional Buddhist greeting to everyone who approached, and beating a small hide-covered drum was Tenzin Rigzin. Over and over, softly; again and again. This was his peace drum and he was not about to get tired beating it. Incidentally, Tenzin Rigzin was one of those who appealed to ‘Prime Minister’ Shaukat Aziz for expediting their visas while they waited at the border for a week and more, to no avail of course.
A short note about the influence ‘Prime Minister’ Shaukat Aziz has over the regime he nominally heads: whilst he promised representatives of the peace-marchers when they met him in Karachi some months ago that the Indians would get a 150 visas, they ended up getting only 12! And those too much delayed. Good reason for him to reconsider his position if you ask me, and resign. Also, reason for all future requests to do with the government to be routed to the Big General himself: poor old Shaukat Aziz being neither here nor there. Seems to me his ‘prime ministry’ will be shorter lived than poor old Jamali’s! Any bets? I am good for Rs 10 any time.
[...].
Kamran Shafi is a freelance columnist
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