Lack of Indo-Pak dialogue 'risky', strengthens those interested in dividing two nations

Counterview Desk

In an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the top advocacy group, South Asia Peace Action Network (Sapan), has said that the absence of an invite to Pakistan for his oath-taking ceremony is not in the spirit of the concept of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" – the world is one family – which he claims to advocate.

Asking Modi to "revise" his stand and "extend a hand of friendship to all SAARC countries, including Pakistan", Sapan, whose founders include well known Pakistani human rights activist late IA Rahman and India's late Admiral (retd) L Ramdas (photos), said, "The lack of dialogue between India and Pakistan risks strengthening those whose interests lie in seeing our nations remain divided."

Text:

We write to you as members of the South Asia Peace Action Network (Sapan), a collective committed to fostering cooperation, peace, and dialogue across our region. Our shared histories, cultures, and aspirations drive us to advocate for better relations among our nations under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) umbrella.
First and foremost, we congratulate you and the NDA 3.0 on your recent electoral victory. We also commend the INDI Alliance for restoring a healthy and united opposition in the country after a long gap. This development is a testament to the people of India's reaffirmation of their faith in democracy, ensuring a robust and effective opposition in Parliament – a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.
The recent election results affirm that the people of India remain firmly committed to the Indian Constitution. We also commend your initiative in inviting the leaders of neighbouring SAARC countries to join the people of India in felicitating the new government and Parliament during the oath of office ceremony.
However, we feel the absence of an invite to Pakistan. In the spirit of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" – the world is one family – we hope you will revise your stand and extend a hand of friendship to all SAARC countries, including Pakistan.
Sapan is a group of South Asians in the region and diaspora who have come together to realise our dream of a cooperative South Asia, working across borders as envisaged by SAARC. We share a common history of colonial exploitation and the divisive policies of partition, which have left deep scars.
We believe that the people of South Asia share many common bonds, from history and cuisine to language, religion, culture, art, dance, and music. Our interactions around the world have shown us the potential for unity and cooperation.
We acknowledge that recent interactions between our nations have been marked by suspicion and a lack of trust. However, we firmly believe it is within our power to mend fences, demonstrating that our ancient cultures and traditions are stronger than any armoury.

We believe it is within our power to mend fences, demonstrating that our ancient cultures and traditions are stronger than any armoury

The lack of dialogue between India and Pakistan risks strengthening those whose interests lie in seeing our nations remain divided. It also hinders South Asia's ability to focus on mutual development and prosperity.

History shows that dialogue is crucial. If former Indian Prime Minister, the late Shri Rajiv Gandhi had not gone to Islamabad for the 1988 SAARC summit, many critical issues between India and Pakistan would have remained unresolved during the Cold War. Similarly, the aftermath of the Kargil War and the events of 9/11 necessitated dialogue. The then Prime Minister late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee's initiatives, starting from the 2002 SAARC summit in Kathmandu, helped prevent further deterioration.
Therefore, we appeal to you, for the sake of the peoples of our region, to strive to enter a new era of genuine fraternity across our borders. This is essential to improve the quality of life for all our peoples, increasing performance in every sector, and freeing our peoples from the clutches of hunger, disease, unemployment and ethnic and religious strife.
India’s 2024 electoral mandate, in which the people of India ushered in a government of consensus, presents an opportunity for South Asia and SAARC to also be governed by consensus. Let us seize this moment to foster an inclusive and collaborative future for our region.
We at Sapan pledge to work with you and all governments in the region to continue dialogue and facilitate an easier visa regime for our people.
We respectfully urge you to call a formal SAARC summit, bringing together the heads of all nations, including Pakistan, to work out a roadmap for peace and good relations in this auspicious period of Amrit Kaal.
Sapan and many groups in the region offer our full support and are ready to work with all South Asian governments to take steps in this direction. As our esteemed visionaries,the late I.A. Rehman and Admiral L. Ramdas, both committed to promoting peace and understanding between India and Pakistan, said: "If not now, then when? If not us, then who?"
---
Click here for Sapan Founding Charter

Comments

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Women's rights leaders told to negotiate with Muslimness, as India's donor agencies shun the word Muslim

By A Representative Former vice-president Hamid Ansari has sharply criticized donor agencies engaged in nongovernmental development work, saying that they seek to "help out" marginalizes communities with their funds, but shy away from naming Muslims as the target group, something, he insisted, needs to change. Speaking at a book release function in Delhi, he said, since large sections of Muslims are poor, they need political as also social outreach.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Bihar’s land at ₹1 per acre for Adani sparks outrage, NAPM calls it crony capitalism

By A Representative The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the Bihar government’s decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur district, to Adani Power for a 2,400 MW coal-based thermal power project.

Sardar Patel was on Nathuram Godse's hit list: Noted Marathi writer Sadanand More

Sadanand More (right) By A Representative In a surprise revelation, well-known Gujarati journalist Hari Desai has claimed that Nathuram Godse did not just kill Mahatma Gandhi, but also intended to kill Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Citing a voluminous book authored by Sadanand More, “Lokmanya to Mahatma”, Volume II, translated from Marathi into English last year, Desai says, nowadays, there is a lot of talk about conspiracy to kill Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but little is known about how the Sardar was also targeted.

Counterview

Search This Blog