(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
