August 24, 2024
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
The Society for Communal Harmony hosted a webinar on Saturday, August 24, to allow citizens across India and Pakistan to share their experiences of holding a peace march to the Wagah border on the independence days of both countries.
Dr Arvinder Ansari, secretary of the Society for Communal Harmony, welcomed the participants to the webinar. She said the evening was dedicated to late peace activists, particularly Kuldip Nayar, who began the movement for Pakistan-India friendship in the late eighties. The Aagaaz-e-Dosti Yatra is an attempt of the same hope and expectation which was started in the 80s by Kuldeep Nayar, Rajendra Sachchar, Nirmala Deshpande, Mohini Giri, Ramesh Yadav, and Rameshchand Sharma.
“They would all travel to the India-Pakistan border (Attari – Wagah) in droves, and celebrate the independence of India and pay tribute to freedom fighters who had sacrificed their lives by becoming inheritors of the shared culture and heritage,” she described.
Veteran peace activist and president of the Society for Communal Harmony , Dr Syeda Sayidain Hameed, said that today the Pakistan-India peace movement was on right track despite facing hindrances and difficulties over the decades. She also paid tribute to Kuldip Nayyar and Asma Jahangir. She recalled how the Pakistani human rights icon had released two doves upon her arrival in India when she had come with a a peace delegation. “The doves signified a very great moment for us,” she said. She also praised veteran journalist and peace activist Imtiaz Alam and Beena Sarwar for their part in the Pakistan-India peace movement. She recited verses of a poem by Ali Sarfar Jafri which had been written in response to a poem by Ahmed Faraz.
Peace activist Ram Mohan shared his experiences of the Aagaaz-e-Dosti Yatra. “This year, the yatra had 52 participants including women and young children,” he told the participants of the webinar. “Interestingly, the peace delegation had representation from all all segments of society, including doctors, scholars, farmers, professionals and students.”
Mohan said that the Aagaaz-e-Dosti Yatra was a part of their movement for world peace. He said when their delegation had reached Attari, the number of people had swelled to 200. “The energy and fervour was very strong and was reflected on the Pakistani side as well which also resulted in around 200 at the Wagah border,” he remarked. He said citizens on the Pakistani were also chanting slogans of peace.
Mohan said that they were ready to make sacrifices for fostering Pakistan-India friendship. He said the participants came from 12 of the provinces in India, but hoped that next time they would represent all the provinces.
Sadiq Ahmed, a participant of the Yatra, said that the experience was altogether different this year.
“The mothers of Olympic medalists Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Kapoor have bridged the gulf between the neighbourly countries by calling for peace in their statements,” he said.
One of the participants in the webinar suggested that the citizens on both sides of Pak-India border should demand an end to the military drills at Wagah border. “These should be replaced by cultural shows, dance, and music,” he suggested.
The participants suggested that it should be easier to begin an exchange of artists, dancers, singers and writers between the two countries. “These exchange delegations should be hosted in cities like Lucknow and Hyderabad instead of Delhi,” a participant contributed. The participants also shared how the cultural bond between people of both countries was still going strong, referring to the popularity of Pakistani dramas and fashion among Indians.
Concluding the webinar, Dr Syeda Sayidain Hameed said the current atmosphere between the countries gave hope for a way forward. She opined that the participants had given concrete suggestions to foster Pak-India peace, adding that it was essential to mitigate violent and vulgar and aggressive gestures at the border as a first step. “The late Asma Jahangir once said that if the border gate was opened just for a day it would end up in a traffic jam,” she said.
Hina Kausar, the moderator of the meeting, thanked all participants and hoped the movement would keep fostering peace between the two neighbourly countries.