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• March 11, 2010: Peace & Harmony News from S. Asia [1 Update]

 Topic: March 11, 2010: Peace & Harmony News from S. Asia

Pritam Rohila <asiapeace@comcast.net> Mar 11 09:28AM -0800 ^

 
ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNAL HARMONY IN ASIA (ACHA)
www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org
4410 Verda Lane NE, Keizer, OR 97303, USA
asiapeace@comcast.net
 
March 11, 2010: Peace & Harmony News from S. Asia
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndiaPakistanPeaceDay
&
http://groups.google.com/group/peace--harmony-news-from-south-asia
 
IN THIS ISSUE
 
*Forget 1947, it's history, Allen O'brien, TNN, 04 Mar, 2010
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/amankiasharticleshow/5639488.cms
 
Did you know that walls, barbed wire fences and barricades stretch
across almost the entire 1,800 miles of the defined Indo-Pak border?
 
Did you know that some Rs 1,201 crore is spent on fencing,
floodlights, roads and border outposts across the Indo-Pak border?
 
And did you know that the barbed wire border is going to be made less
formidable by a 'Rope of Respect' peace chain comprising some two lakh
hankies! It's how young India bridges the great Indo-Pak divide by
laying down a new matrix for the bilateral relationship. With funky
slogans on handkerchiefs from nine cities — Delhi, Lucknow,
Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and
Chennai — and 1,200 schools, this TOI peace initiative — Aman ki Asha,
begins a new season of hope, a new Indo-Pak border, sans discord. This
is one in which young Indians take on responsibility for shedding the
baggage of history.
 
It is obvious that this is the need of the hour. The terrorists must
be crushed; the fundamentalists must be hushed. As some of our
students' slogans rightly declare: If war is the answer, then the
question is wrong; Nukes are flukes; Hand out free chocolates, not
suicide vests; Put 1947 behind, it's history! Look ahead, it's 2010.
Or more aptly: Love your enemies, it really kills them! Read on to
find out why young India feels Munnabhai's reworked Gandhian
philosophy of love is the only real weapon of change.
 
Why we need peace...
 
"We need peace because we have seen enough of this mutual hatred.
Economically and politically too, peace would do a lot of good to
India and its neighbour," says Shivam Sharma, student, Chandigarh. And
"by working together, we can become an even stronger force in the
global community," believes Gayathree Devi of Hyderabad. More
important, young India regards geographical borders as an irrelevance
in a globalizing world. As Irene Kibria, a student in Kolkata, says:
"Borders can be different, but hearts are the same."
 
How to attain peace...
 
"Interactive camps and forums should be initiated to create acceptance
and understanding of differences," suggests Anam Vadgama, a Mumbai
student. Schools can help as well. Harini G, student, Chennai says,
"Both countries must have a common pledge which could be read across
schools, both in India and Pakistan, during the morning assembly." On
a larger scale, suggests Delhi student Ayesha Bhatt, "Both countries
need to work on their misunderstandings by being more friendly."
 
When is peace possible...
 
Trisha Menon of Bangalore says, "Perhaps in the next five years when
commonalities of culture play a vital role." Sudeep Vashistha of DPS,
Gurgaon believes, "There is an urgent need for each country to set
things right within its own system. Once the inner eroded structures
are taken care of, peace shall prevail. And that could take anything
from tomorrow to 10 years!"
 
Till then, our students are already shutting out the dustbin of
history and looking towards a future of peace. It could be the Aman ki
Asha 'hanky campaign' or the 'If peace prevailed' venture. The latter
is a look into the future and how the two countries could progress if
they came together.
 
For instance, an unbeatable combined cricket team, suggests Vrinda
Duve of New Delhi:
 
Where the ball bounces free,
and the bat rises to beat its bounce,
into that heaven of cricketing
freedom, Oh Lord, let the two countries awake
__
EXPLANATION/DISCLIMER: The above is a selection of news stories
pertaining to South Asian governments, civil society organizations and
individuals working together on projects of mutual benefit including
peace and communal harmony, and those relating to attempts to improve
the condition of South Asian peoples, especially women and children.
ACHA does not approve of or subscribe to any "disharmonizing
language" (including terms such as POK or IOK) used in these items
selected from various publications. Readers may exercise their
linguistic judgment and ignore any biased language.


 

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