http://risingkashmir.com/news/a-connected-future-of-an-un-separated-past
Published at September 21, 2017 01:04 AM
For India and Pakistan, movement across border is more restricted than any other South Asian border
Ravi Nitesh
ravinitesh@gmail.com
International Peace Day is being organised in many parts of the world. A UN day which promises, encourage and promote actions and ideas of peace-building, this day carries a significant importance in present world where crisis to mankind is available on every step.
Particularly in South Asia, where despite the severe issues of hunger, malnutrition, poor healthcare systems; conflicts and hatred among different identities are rising with each day.
India and Pakistan are two countries who are spending much of their GDP (between 02 to 04 percent) only in defence expenditure that also against each other on the name of protection from each other.
Ceasefire violations, migration, killing of people are like every day story of this region. Kashmir, despite being in core subject of dispute between the two nations, could not be resolved yet and still facing the burns.
Despite all this, it seems that still opportunities have not been lost. Students who comprise majority of population in this region still have their pious and love filled heart and their participation in peace-building activities reflects that change will come.
To commemorate 70 years of Independence, Pakistan and India organized many events across their geographical span.
During a meeting with Prof Meenakshi Chhabra, who teaches at Lesley University, USA and researching on partition since last many years, observed how Independence and Partition both came together and both affected lives in the subcontinent, but it is only festival of ‘Independence’ that is talked in public space, whereas partition remained the talk only within closed social and intellectual spheres.
This is despite the fact partition still exists as undercurrent in minds on both sides.
Talking partition neither means challenging it nor justifying it, instead bringing the trauma, narratives, perceptions and views out from hearts and to let it flow with the main-current as this may also help in ensuring the future efforts of peace-building, whether socially or politically.
After partition, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a renowned poet of Pakistan, who is one of the most loved and renowned poet of subcontinent stated ‘Ye Daag Daag Ujala, Ye shab gazeeda seher, vo intezar tha jiska, ye vo seher toh nahi’, as he denied the presence of bloodshed.
His poetry was all about courage to make efforts for humanity, fraternity, equality. Now, after 70 years, when Faiz is not among us physically and left back earlier in the year 1984, his house known as ‘Faiz Ghar’ still carries his presence through living the essence of Faiz’s thoughts where people work regularly to promote arts and culture.
But this year, along with many other activities, Faiz Ghar found a new set of documents and then a different sitting of new audience. These documents were letters written by Indian children to Pakistani children (during letter and card exchange program of Aaghaz-e-Dosti, an Indo-Pak Friendship Initiative) and hence, to recite these letters, Pakistani students gathered.
Few letters were written by Indian students to Pakistan’s students in Lahore after Gulshan-e-Iqbal incident in Lahore and expressed their solidarity. In return, students from Pakistan sent cards and then they received back another set of letters.
This was an exchange where despite visa and other restrictions, thoughts of children crossed the boundary. When Faiz Ghar agreed to display these letters, state’s preparation was running in both countries to celebrate independence.
Children on both sides, who actually are responsible future citizens, future administrators and politicians of these nations, are the same even in their mindsets, as their minds are aligned with their hearts that speak love.
When they paint in peace calendars of Aaghaz-e-Dosti, they paint with meeting hands across borders, birds above borders, lightning border with candles, even cutting of barbed wires and sowing flowers on the border lines.
Their letters written to each other are not only their personal documents, but probably a vision document of future and can be surely converted in realization of hatred free and violence free subcontinent if such exchanges of ideas remains continue.
In his remarks, Dr I A Rehman expressed the ‘Hope’ with such beautiful exchanges.
Borders may remain strict and probably may become stricter too sometimes, but people on both sides cannot be actually made separated despite many restrictions upon physical movements.
Right of free movement on earth should have been a natural right to mankind for the very fact that they born on this earth, but with the development, civilization and modernization, groups and governments restricted it, often as administrative tools.
For India and Pakistan, movement across border is more restricted than any other South Asian border.
Applying visa itself is difficult as there is no tourist visa exists. Even after applying the visa, if someone receives the permission to cross border, it seems achieving the impossible and person expresses his/her gratitude towards the issuer.
Hundreds of applications may have under consideration at any time, but many get rejected on regular basis including of religious pilgrims whose faiths have connections on other side of border.
These years are years of technology that provides us unlimited opportunities to explore history as well as building concrete steps towards a connected future.
Technological innovations are equipped to enhance understanding about anything one desire to explore and it is definitely a great opportunity for peace builders to explore such innovations for an enhanced understanding about peace through educating people, specially students about diversity and non-violence.
These young students are certainly rays of light that contributing in cleaning of old dirt and in re-shaping the future of subcontinent that were never separated.
Author is founder of Aaghaz-e-Dosti, an Indo-Pak Friendship Initiative. Twitter@ravinitesh
