|
Written by Rahul Mukherji
|
|
Thursday, 01 May 2008 |
“Wine breaks my resolve, resolve breaks my cup; broken cups lay in heaps all around me, here.”
NEARLY FOR 60 YEARS WE HAVE BEEN PART OF THE PROBLEM…
Fifty plus years of Indo-Pak talks are little red with heaps of shattered talks, resolves and intentions. Nehru-Liaqat talks in fifties, Shastri-Ayub talks in sixties, Indira-Bhutto talks in seventies, Rajiv-Benazir talks in eighties, Vajpayee - Nawaz talks in nineties; Vajpayee-Musaraf in early two thousand all broken, littering the storehouse of fledgling Indo-Pakistani history.
Everyone on both sides of the India-Pakistan border wants a peaceful life. Kargil or no Kargil, everyone in both countries hankers to sit down and listen to Lata Mangeshkar or Ghulam Ali.
We celebrated the 60th anniversary of Independence of India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan have deep bonds of common culture and civilization and a shared history that goes back several years. Actions of the governments of India and Pakistan such as the development of nuclear weapons threaten the peaceful co-existence of not only the two countries but of the entire region of South Asia. I believe that the current hostile climate can only undermine the national security of the two countries and that the only way to ensure peace and prosperity in the region is to garner greater economic and cultural ties across borders.
We the concerned citizens should make an earnest appeal to the Governments of India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, stop hostilities, on the Kashmir front, and save our valuable resources for the betterment of the people, specially the poor and the needy of both countries. Both the countries cannot afford such adventures. Millions in both countries want bread not bombs. Want education and not guns. We are not a poor sub-continent but we have poor people because we are wasting resources firing guns at each other. And for this you, me and all the people of this sub-continent are responsible.
It’s time to act. To appeal to the men and women of both the countries to build up a strong peace initiative to bring moral pressure on their respective Governments. Human life on both sides is precious; any killing is a loss to both our countries. Every drop of blood counts. Let us follow the path of sanity and develop good neighbourly relations in order to solve our problems. A war, after all, has never produced any winners.
Things are getting better. But will this able to make a positive crack for peace? Will this meet harvest anything substantial to the two countries and the troubled state of Jammu & Kashmir? Will the extremists in both countries give peace a chance? Can we lay the old ghost to rest? Or will we see history repeating itself, a few moments of euphoria followed by a long spell of hostility?
We, therefore should call upon the two governments to:
1. Work toward joint solutions of shared problems of economic and human development.
2. Seek greater cooperation in trade and promote cultural and intellectual exchange between the two countries. Especially youth exchange programs.
3. Seek a peaceful resolution to their dispute over Kashmir with genuine representation and active participation from the diverse people of Kashmir.
4. Respect the Human Rights of the Kashmiris.
I have a strong belief that amidst of heavy smoke and gloom the sun is bound to rise in the valley once more, the streets are going to be filled with laughter and the shikaras on the Dal will float on water and not blood. Let us give peace a chance for once and always.
LET’S START BEING PART OF THE SOLUTION…
PEACE!
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 19 September 2008 )
|
Mission
