Push For Peace

Civil society on both sides is eager to support the campaign aimed at improving the economic, educational and cultural relations between India and Pakistan in the best way possible. After all, ShahRukh Khan is as loved in Pakistan as he is in India. His latest film ‘My name is Khan', is running to packed audiences all over the country. Shortly after the Mumbai attacks, when a group from Pakistan's Ajoka Theatre performed in India, it received an overwhelming response. Pakistani musicians Atif Aslam, Strings, Jal, Rahat Fateh Ali, Shafquat Amanat and many others perform regularly in India and are always greatly applauded. Similarly, Mahesh Bhatt, Nandita Das, Shohba Mudgal and Vidya Balan love to visit Pakistan every time they are invited and are received with great warmth.

While sports relations between the two countries have remained on an even keel, the IPL episode has left a bad taste in the mouth. In future, it is initiatives like Aman Ki Asha that would serve to quell the public emotion arising from such incidents. The current peace initiative promises great potential and common people on both sides would be quite happy to play their role in carrying its objectives forward. However, the fact remains that the effort can only succeed when it seeks to include the establishment of the two countries as well because, in most instances, that is where the road blocks lie. The fear is that if the real stake-holders are not included and real issues not highlighted, Aman Ki Asha too may simply fizzle out like many other sincere peace initiatives in the past.
Peace cannot be attained between nations by showbiz and sports stars alone or, what is known in India and Pakistan, as CBMs (confidence-building measures). Such efforts simply vanish when national political interests clash. There is therefore a need to first attend to the fundamental issues and to replace politics of confrontation and conflict with politics of accommodation and cooperation. Many peace moves initiated between India and Pakistan in the past fell on their face because they did not take into consideration the real issues, the real bones of contention and just worked on the cosmetics.

Some key areas that those behind Aman Ki Asha need to focus on revolve around creation of an atmosphere of reconciliation and respect for each other's national interests concerning security and economy. In working towards these goals, they would have to press their respective governments, establishments and political parties, to work towards resolution of the outstanding political, territorial and other disputes. Both sides will need to accept that extremism must be controlled at all costs and eradicated in all forms. They would also need to take measures to create a realistic understanding of each other's history and ethos and inculcate in their respective publics tolerance for each other's point of view. Obviously, this will not be achieved on a short-term basis and would be a long-drawn process involving the wide media reach that both the Jang Group and the Times of India command.

Those behind Aman Ki Asha should expect to run into a whole plethora of barriers of in-built prejudices and reservations that would need to be removed before things can really start moving in the desired direction - and the hapless people of the subcontinent can have some hope for peace and mutual understanding.

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