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Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

PakAmrika Drama


Mullen ne thi yaad dilai
ISI ko uski woh bewafai
Jo CIA ko hargiz na bhai
Phir CIA-ISI dosti dagmagai

Mullen ko jo itna ghussa aya
Usne Kiyani ko saaf saaf sunaya
Phir Tension tension ka saaya
Hae, PakAmrika ishq pe mandraya

Mansooba bana ke ek uncha
Pasha jo Amreeka pahuncha
Uski 17th rank ne kam dikhaya
Drones khilone le ke wapas aya

Haqqani ne phir kiya ye zikr
Na kare koi pakamrika ki fikr
Duniya ka kya hai woh kehti rahegi
Pak Amrika mohabbat to barti rahegi

Category:

MY POETRY, Personal, Politics, Social Issues

Mukhtara, We Cry too.


Justice…
First delay
And then deny.

Mukhtara…
With you
We all shall cry.

Hope…
Gets buried
Beneath the verdict.

Courage…
To fight
No power can restrict.

Evidence…
Is that all
You insist to know?

Conscience…
My dear
Where did it go?

Enraged…
We stand
Untill we see.

Punishment…
To the rapists
Whoever they be.

Category:

MY POETRY, Pakistan, Politics, RELIGION, Social Issues, Women

Oh! the Souls of the Subcontinent


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Oh! the souls of the subcontinent,
Let for amity be our energies spent.

Aren’t we neighbours? Shall be forever,
Let being friends be our real endeavour.

How can the love our hearts not seal?
How can the vibes our minds not feel?

It’s not just the past, we both share
Also the culture and faith that we so care

How can my eyes and yours deny,
Shared treasures, that make us sigh!

Himalayas on our heads so stand,
Lofty mountains guarding our land.

The twists and turns in Indus river,
Who’s ancient stories make us shiver.

Enchanting Thar and its golden sands,
Weave beauty in each of its strands.

And then the grand Arabian Sea,
That enthrals both you and me.

How could we now live apart,
We’ve been one, from the start

Oh! those lines on our lands sketched,
Let they not, on our hearts be etched.

IlmanaFasih
Note: An FB friend Rashmi Talwar made ammendment in the last verses with magic words. How could I not accept her suggestion:

How could we now live apart,
We’ve been one, from the ‘very’ start

Oh! those lines on our lands sketched,
Let they not, on our hearts ‘forever’ be etched.


Category:

India, Indo-Pak, MY POETRY, Pakistan, Peace, Personal, Poetry, Politics, Social Issues

Mondo NaGaSaKi– Documentary Video on Hiroshima-Nagasaki Bombings Aftermath.



“Once presented, the facts will speak for themselves.” — Helen Caldicott, Nuclear Madness

The film examines of the uses of atomic bomb blast footage. It unearths footage long suppressed from the National Archives that shows Japanese victims of the blasts suffering weeks after the bombs had hit. It retells the experience of Japanese documentary Film-maker Akira Iwasaki.
Music by WWI. Mondo NaGaSaKi.
Producer: James Andrew Wagstaff.
Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States.

DEVASTATION CAUSED BY THE BOMBS
-According to the U.S. Department of Energy the immediate effects of the blast killed approximately 70,000 people in Hiroshima.
-Estimates of total deaths by the end of 1945 from burns, radiation and related disease, the effects of which were aggravated by lack of medical resources, range from 90,000 to 166,000.
-Some estimates state up to 200,000 had died by 1950, due to cancer and other long-term effects.
– Another study states that from 1950 to 2000, 46% of leukemia deaths and 11% of solid cancer deaths among bomb survivors were due to radiation from the bombs, the statistical excess being estimated to 94 leukemia and 848 solid cancers.
-At least eleven known prisoners of war died from the bombing.

“As far as his (Albert Einstein) own life was concerned, one thing seemed quite clear. ‘I made one great mistake in my life,’ he said to Linus Pauling, who spent an hour with him on the morning of November 11, 1954, ‘…when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification – the danger that the Germans would make them.'”.
~Ronald Clark, Einstein: The Life and Times, pg. 620.

Category:

Earth, Health, International, Japan, My world, Peace, Politics, Quotes, Science, Social Issues

Learning to ‘Agree to Disagree’


Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.(~Gandhi)

I bet Gandhi said this with me in his mind.

I have yet to find a person with whom I have a total agreement on all issues. No one ever does. The probability of such a person existing may be theoretically possible (though extremely miniscule) but practically, it is IMPOSSIBLE.

I have a family with Hubs and two kids. And an extended family with sibs, parents and in-laws. And then a huge set of real and virtual friends. We all seem to be disagreeing with each other, more than agreeing, on most of the issues.

Many a times I stand alone in disagreement with almost everyone else on the other side.
So what?

Diametrically varying views lead to differences. Differences beget disagreements. Disagreements lead to debates. Debates stretch to hot discussions. Discussions at times lead to dissensions. Dissensions lead to verbal dogfights. Dogfights end up in a drain of energy. Drain of energy for sure.

Gosh! Despite all this, there is a great thrill in differing—agreeing on everything itsy bitsy, tiny miny would be so boring.

Calling other’s opinion ‘wrong’, ‘ignorance’ , ‘denial’, ‘silly’ could be part of humor but if hurled seriously as allegations is just bigotry at its best.

One learns more from the differences than from agreements.( Reference: Gandhi’s above quote!).

What is important is to give due respect and credibility to other’s opinions too. And the debate should be for putting one’s point across instead of the attempt to make others agree to one’s perspective. To be able to get other’s perspective without necessarily agreeing to it is an art one learns through studying ‘logic’.

When certain issues or topics hold a passionate place in one’s heart and mind, it gets even more difficult to maintain ‘sanity’ in discussion. Not being afraid of registering one’s opinion -no matter how ‘odd’ it appears -to the general public around, definitely breeds doubts of ‘cynicism’, ‘eccentricity’ in other’s minds.

But to accept other person’s insanity as normal is an art too.

I have seen this art beautifully put in practice by my exceptionally tolerant husband. The concept of giving a ‘space’ to the other person and to agree to disagree– are two lessons I learned from him. And in fact, keep forgetting and keep relearning them, even till date.

I have tremendous respect for him and for almost everyone else who still consider me ‘worthy’ of a place in their friends list, despite my insane discussions on disagreements.

So notorious are my disagreements that hubs often jokes about my ‘sanity’ if I agree to anything wholeheartedly.

Tell you a secret, even I don’t feel ‘myself ‘ if I get to agree with others viewpoint easily.

Disagreements rock!

Category:

CULTURE, General, Peace, Personal, Politics, Quotes, Social Issues

13 Reasons Why I am not Perturbed by the Ban on Veil in France


I know majority of my close friends and kins are of the opinion that banning of face veil in France is against the Human rights and needs to be protested. Again I stand as a miniscule minority who thinks differently.
Apparently I donot fear being labelled an eccentric or a cynic, and feel more at ease by expressing my genuine views–no matter how dissenting they may be.

Very valid that no one has right to tell women what should they wear and what they should not. Yes it amounts to usurping the ‘right to choose’ but I have certain reasons why I stand unconcerned on the issue.

1. First, it is a political issue. To give it a religious color and get emotional in my opinion unjustified. Headlines calling it–‘banning of a muslim veil’ – by endless news reports includintg the major international newspapers, is in my view ‘inaccurate’ reporting. The language used is ‘bans the veils anywhere in public’.

2. Second, facial veil is not a mandatory in Islam even according to scholars, so to get emotional about the issue as usurping of religious rights isn’t valid.

3. Yes in a way it is going to affect only the Muslims, because nowadays it is only the Muslim women who practice face covering on a regular basis. Is it not a food for thought for us liberals to shake our brains on our cultural primitivity?

4.It was voted by the French Parliament with an overwhelming majority through a democratic process, not by any one person’s whims and fancy. Even in the polls, 80% of French are against it. Majority prevails in a democracy.

5. It is not the first country to ban a face veil. “Tunisia since 1981, and Turkey since 1997, are two Muslim countries which have banned the hijab in public schools and universities or government buildings, whilst Syria banned face veils in universities from July 2010.” Why didnt we cry foul then?

6. French parliament has been there for ages and so has been the face veil. Why then the ban now? It is a case of ‘lost trust’ between the west and the Muslims ( if at all it is to be taken as a ban on muslim rights). In such a case, crying against the ban in isolation will aggravate the polarisation. It should be looked at more objectively than emotionally and must deal with the bridging of the wideing gap through restoration of trust. When the trust returns, prejudice against such practices and targetting them would die it’s own death.

7. I donot agree that any woman is eagerly willing to wear a niqaab if given the choice without being brainwashed on it’s favour. Hence to say that those who wear it willingly, have been made willing through constant brainwashing. In my view it is the same as a person who has been brainwashed/convinced on committing suicide should be allowed to do so. Why is that an offence then? Who does it harm if someone wants to die?

8. If woman should be allowed to choose covering her face, why would those who want to go nude, have female circumcision or tolerate domestic abuse without complain, not be allowed to do so as a fundamental right. Why are these considered offences?

9. In the number game, ban on face veil will help far more girls and women who are, by force, asked to cover in compliance to the family/cultural values, than those very few who will be forced to take it off.

10.Medically and psychologically, veil is harmful. Absolute covering prevents exposure to sun, hence Vit D deficiency and Osteoporosis is very common in women who wear veil. And such covering prevents light and hence causes depression in the women.

11. Veil is definitely a hinderance in communication. Facial and eye expression are a major component of communication. It affects those who are interacting with a veiled woman and causes inequality.The woman can see all the expressions of the person she is communicating to, but conceals her own expressions. It is an unfair and non-reciprocal exchange of communication.

12. We have common men women in Pakistan more worried about a ban on veil in France( where not even 5% will ever get a chance to go and live) and are oblivious to the packing up of HEC right under their nose–a case of wrong values.We need to divert our energies to that issue.

13. We have been complaing of western agenda against muslims, against Islam for the last two decades. Do we think the West are angels, they will not retalite to our constant dislike or suspicions towards them. It is a reaction to our own irrational actions.

Yes, ban of veil may be an infringement of one’s fundamental right, but I donot consider it such a big issue to waste my energy and divert from ‘real’ issues. We recently wasted a lot of energies, valuable time on the issue of Raymond Davis–but what was the end result?

Thank God I did not waste my time and mind on it, even then.

I think we must start doing the Cost-Effect Analysis of our worries on the innumerable issues concerning this world.

Category:

CULTURE, Health, International, Islam, Pakistan, Politics, RELIGION, Social Issues

INDIA: UNPRECEDENTED SUPPORT TO A CIVIL UPRISING (part 2)


Following India…..Part 2

THE FIGHT FOR REAL DEMOCRACY AND TRANSPARENCY

On April 5th. a Gandhian activist known as Anna Hazare started a ‘fast unto death’ to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a strong anti-corruption act as in the Jan Lokpal Bill..

As Indians rise in protest and rally around Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption, the swelling resolve to birth a movement that would usher in real democracy with transparency and accountability as hallmarks is slowly assuming unprecedented levels.

This is a tide of popular discontent against the venal politician-bureaucrat-corporate nexus that has not only fattened itself on public money but has also perpetuated a system that carefully looks after the interests of the privileged and the powerful, often denying just basic rights to the majority.

The civil movement is seeing unprecedented level of support by the Indians all over the world.

Support has been pouring from Indians across the globe in support of Anna Hazare’s fast against corruption started at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi April 5

I paste her some of the support pledges from the news from today( April 8, 2011):

• The Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala today extended its support to social activist Anna Hazare on his movement against growing corruption in the country.

• Indians in Los Angeles are organizing a day-long fast Saturday in support of Indian social activist Anna Hazare’s fast against corruption in India. 45 cities in the US, 40 cities in India and 8 other countries globally joined the movement.

• Film actor Aamir Khan’s letter in support of Hazare written to prime minister Manmohan Singh is being widely circulated on the Internet.

• Self-exiled artist MF Husain has drawn a cartoon extending support to Anna Hazare saying what the anti-corruption crusader is spearheading is “another revolution”.

“I am thrilled that the younger generation has taken up the cause to crush corruption in India and I wish them great success,” Husain, now a citizen of Qatar, said.

• While Madhur Bhandarkar, Vivek Agnihotri and Anupam Kher have already made efforts to meet Hazare personally at Jantar Mantar.

• Sonakshi Sinha: It’s usually ONE person that makes a difference. Mahatma Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa. Kudos to Anna Hazare! We’re with you.

• Naseeruddin Shah : We have started accepting corruption as a way of life. We don’t think twice or feel bad about handing over Rs. 50 to a traffic cop or Rs. 50 crore to a neta . We don’t hitch as we think ‘ yeh toh chalta hai, yeh toh hota hai’ . But it happens because we let it happen and it will never stop till we don’t stop it.
“What Anna Hazare is doing will definitely bring about a positive change in the way the system works. The need of the hour is for the youth of this country to awaken and fight against corruption. Only that and nothing else can help India become a corruption free nation. “

• Hrithik Roshan: I support Anna Hazare. It’s TIME to make a CHANGE!

• Bipasha Basu: The biggest drawback of our country is the existence of corruption right from the grass root level right to the top!

• More than 50 employee unions from Pune and social organisations, along with citizens’ groups, extended their support to Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption agitation on Thursday.

• Sacked Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi on Friday urged fans to carry flags and placards to IPL matches to express support to fasting Gandhian Anna Hazare.

• Support for Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign is growing in Punjab and Haryana where hundreds of activists, students, doctors, lawyers and teachers have rallied behind him.( Panjab University, PGIMER.,People’s Party of Punjab). Two lawyers of Punjab and Haryana High Court, V.S. Makkar and Gaurav Goyal, are on an indefinite hunger strike in Chandigarh.

Twitter

The microblogging site has people sharing their 140-characters on Hazare, where the hashtag #hazare not only lists a whole bunch of tweets, but also shows updates as comments and thoughts are tweeted. Twitter is also the forum of choice for celebrities and the intelligentsia to share their two cents.
Anna Hazare is the top trend of India in Twitter, and is followed by lokpal, Mera Neta Chor Hai, Corruption, and Jantar Mantar. Incidentally, IPL is also among the top trends of today.

A  look at  few  tweets:

AzmiShabana: Anna Hazare embodies hope of a nation dat corruption can b rooted out Lokpal bill 1st drafted in 1972.arm yrself with information n join

Riteish Deshmukh: Am shooting in Hong Kong, the voice of Anna is heard all over the world- I support ANNA HAJARE – and his campaign – More power to him

Shashi Tharoor: Sorry, have been focused onKerala campaign. Huge respect for AnnaHazare. Unconditionally support consensual national action agnst corruption

Anand Mahindra: This is a movement whose heart&voice cannot be ignored “@sundarsez: If only industry captains can voice their support for Anna Hazare”

Lalit Modi: All fans attending IPL matches should carry flags and placards in support of the Jan Lokpal Bill. This will ensure the message reaches all.

Facebook

There are several pages and communities on Hazare; with both the number of pages, and people who are getting involved increasing every hour. There are 146,855 members in the ‘India Against Corruption’ community. The number of likes has exceeded 100,000; and these are mostly people who have joined in over the last couple of days.

Every  Wall on the Facebook is likely to have  at least a few comments on Hazare. These wall posts are in turn fuelling debate and discussions. While the overall mood seems to be in support of Hazare, there are the skeptics and quite a few discussions seem polarized between the sheer idealist and the mere nasty. There are also events (both virtual and otherwise) scheduled and shared using Facebook, like ‘Light a Candle in support of Anna Hazare, get ready for Jail Bharo.’
A quick look at some random comments from Facebook Walls (names have been removed). These posts are often not in English, as you will see, but in local languages written using the English script.

User A: Whatever Anna Hazare is doing is utter bullshit. What is the point of doing so? Most of the folks who have been supporting Anna, will vote for the same old corrupt politicians against whom the old man is fighting. You can’t make much difference by supporting Anna except making some superficially-intellectual and style statement (wearing that cap)

User B: emon ‘purush’ haazar-e non, 120 koTite ‘ek’ !! (Hazare is not one in a thousand, but one in 120 crore)

User C: I am ready to support Sachin Tendulkar for Bharat Ratna if the “god” and the men in blue come out and support the demand for early enactment of the Jan Lokpal Bill…

User D: Unreal scenes in India — “Gali Gali mein shor hai, mera neta chor hai”. Chetan Bhagat’s blog is actually pretty good. (Apologies to my non-Indian friends here, but this is regarding a massive anti-corruption protest in India).

BOTTOM LINE: New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar venue has become the Tahrir Square and Tiananmen Square ready to shake the world again with another Revolution.

(Courtesy Biztech: Sudarshana Bannerjee).

Category:

India, International, Politics

INDIA: MOVEMENT FOR REAL DEMOCRACY AND TRANSPARENCY PART 1


FOLLOWING INDIA…….PART 1

INTRODUCTION TO LOK PAL BILL AND ITS CONTROVERSY

India regularly ranks among the most corrupt nations in the world. India holds 87th place in Transparency International’s list of the most corrupt nations. Everyday, the headlines scream about senior government officials or legislators being caught with their fingers in yet another corrupt pie. But hardly anyone ever gets punished.

Man Mohan Singh government, under massive pressure due to corruption charges,and to gain some of its lost ground, half heartedly agreed to think over the introduction of LOKPAL BILL in the parliament.

Scams of Common Wealth games and Adarsh Housing Society proved as a limit to the forbearance of Indian public to corruption. And the civil society as well as the general janta came out in hordes to give unprecedented support to Anna Hazare’s fight for a movement against corruption.

What is Lokpal Bill:

The LokPal Bill provides that any one except a public servant can file a complaint of corruption against the Ministers, members of Parliament and the high government officials. And that the inquiry and redressal against the complaint has to be completed within six months.
The basic idea of the Lok Pal is borrowed from the office of ombudsman, which has played an effective role in checking corruption and wrong-doing in Scandinavian and other nations. Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Spain, New Zealand, Burkina Faso and the United Kingdom are some of the countries which have the office of an Ombudsman.

The Lokpal means a forum where the citizen can send a complaint against a public official, which would then be inquired into and the citizen would be provided some redressal. The office of the Lokpal is the Indian version of the office of an Ombudsman, who is appointed to inquire into these complaints made by citizens against public officials.

History:
It is a 42 year long journey for the LokPal Bill. Eight times in the history of this republic, governments tried to get the Lokpal Bill enacted. But no government – from Indira Gandhi to that of Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Manmohan Singh – could succeed in installing an all powerful ombudsman to probe graft cases against the high and the mighty in the country

What is the controversy :

Civil rights activists, including Anna Hazare( a 71 year old Gandhian), Swami Agnivesh, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, termed the draft legislation as weak and demanded that fifty per cent of the members in the committee drafting the bill should be from the public. They proposed a draft Lok Pal Bill by the name of Jan Lokpal.

The Jan Lokpal Bill or the Citizen’s Ombudsman Bill, a draft anti-corruption bill, would create a Jan Lokpal, or an independent body (like the Election Commission) which would have the power to prosecute politicans and bureaucrats without government permission.

Jan Lokpal ( by Anna Hazare& co) will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. While Lokpal ( originally drafted by the govt) would have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It could only probe complaints forwarded by Lok Sabha Speaker or Rajya Sabha Chairman.
They insist that the high offices of the Prime Minister and the judiciary should also come under the compass of the Lok Pal Bill.

Diverging Opinions:

There are diverging views on issues such as the inclusion of the office of the Prime Minister, ministers and Members of Parliament, inclusion of judges, and powers of the Lokpal. Some experts contend that all public officials should be accountable while others feel that the autonomy and privilege of Parliament require the Prime Minister, ministers, and Members of Parliament to be accountable only to Parliament.

Now the whole controversy has taken the shape of a National Movement of unprecedented proportions, as Anna Hazare announced ‘a fast unto death’ at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on April 5, 2011.
The prime minister, bowing under the pressure from the support to this mass movement, formed a sub-committee of the Group of Ministers to discuss the issue with these activists. However, initially, these two groups were unable to reach an agreement on the provisions of the Lok Pal Bill.
This led to Anna Hazare go for a hunger strike in early April, but just in few days the government accepted his demands.

There are three major points in the murmur of criticism against this civil uprising:

First, the cause is just but the method is undemocratic and, some have suggested, fascist. These civil society leaders are not elected and thus have no locus standi to demand change.
Second, if we allow such pressure groups, instead of established institutions and channels, to dictate terms to government, there would be anarchy.
And third, a mere law will not be able to curb corruption.

Now it is for the readers to form their opinion and decide if this is justified or not.

UPDATE ADDED ON JULY 5, 2011:

On July 4, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the announcement at an All Party Meeting, ” “We are also committed to bringing the bill before Parliament in the coming monsoon session. ……”

Not all is over. There shall be debate in the parliament to bring consensus on the tricky parts of the bill which include: bringing the Prime Minister’s Office and higher judiciary under the ambit of Lokpal. And also to include bringing the conduct of Members of Parliament (MPs) inside the House, CBI’s anti-corruption wing and lower bureaucracy across the country under the Lokpal.

After all a journey of 42 years, 8 failed attempts at getting it passed in the Parliament, display of ‘People’s Power by tens of thousands and civil society members coming out on streets and 60 million tweets has led to this day where LokPal Bill can see light at the end of the tunnel.

And hence a great leap towards ‘real’ and ‘transparent’ democracy.

(WHY have I posted this to you?  We in Pakistan love to follow Indian Soaps, Bollywood buzz, IPL, Indian sarees, fashion trends etc etc . Now it is time to follow their political movements too and learn some good lessons too).

Category:

India, Pakistan, Politics, Uncategorized

Chitti Hatia~a film on Indo-Pak Friendship by Sharad Sharma


http://www.cultureunplugged.com/embed.php?width=700&height=480&video=http://cdn.cultureunplugged.com/lg/CHITTI_HATIA.mp4&m=1958&u=0&thumb=http://cdn.cultureunplugged.com/thumbnails/lg/1958.jpg&sURL=http://www.cultureunplugged.com&title=ChittiHatia&from=SharadSharma

Category:

Film, India, Indo-Pak, Pakistan, Politics, Social Issues

Let’s Make Indo-Pak Peace a Lasting Reality


It was indeed extremely touching to see the reaction of every one on my blog ‘ How can a Mom and a Friend Rejoice…’.

Beena Sarwar tweeted the link and posted it in a couple of fora and some friends cross posted it on their Home page. So also, the beautiful FB page with an even more beautiful spirit ‘Together We can Win’ where I shared it, responded  in return with appreciation for the post. Touching comments mostly by youngsters, who are either my friends or my kids’ friends made me more emotional than anything I have ever experienced. For me it was a victory for Peace between my two homelands–INDIA and  PAKISTAN.

It is not just PM Manmohan Singh or PM Gilani, who think they are the custodians of peace between their two countries.

With such beautiful hearted people and loving kids that I have come across in my personal life, one can imagine how many such loving hearts must be throbbing in the chests of millions of people on both sides of the border, who aspire for peace and prosperity for themselves as well as for their neighbours.

All these millions of hearts in the subcontinent are in fact the real ambassadors of peace in their own right. Together they could be a Peace force large enough to defeat any hate loving agencies, extremists or other vested interests who leave no stone unturned to sow hatred.

As a mother I find myself a tiny speck in front of the great sacrifices hundreds of mothers have made in this subcontinent for peace.

It is hard to forget a great mother Vidyawati who sacrificed her young son with dignity and courage. Her son, no other than Shaheed Bhagat Singh, kissed the gallows on December 19, 1927 along with two other brave sons, of equally brave mothers. Their only fault was that they loved their people and aspired for them better lives.

This great mother lived with the pleasant memories of her son until 1975 (for 48 years after his martyrdom) and never ever did she regret for having lost this brave son. She affectionately shared the intimate accounts of  her son Bhagat Singh, his playful ways and firm ideals.

In a book she reminiscences: “Bhagat used to say he would bring home a charming bride; he brought one in the form of freedom. He would also tell me not to come to receive his body. He loved me, contrary to the belief that his life of total dedication to the revolution had no space for love. He also loved his friends.”

With such sons as Shaheed  Bhagat Singh, his companions, their mothers and thousands of others who sacrificed together for the freedom of this subcontinent, it  now stands in three pieces as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. History cannot be changed and I respect, like everyone else, these boundaries but only if we could avoid further bloodshed and waste of energies in hatred and, instead, harness it in the form of LOVE, PEACE AND PROSPERITY for the entire region. Let the borders be just on the land, not in our hearts.

It does not need a rocket science but a just a flicker of change in one’s thinking to turn this hatred into love. It does not need too many beaurocratic visits or trade pacts or anti war treaties if the one and a half billion people of this subcontinent decide to make AMAN KI ASHA ( hope of peace) into a REAL PEACE.

True both the nations are going through difficulties and surging extremism  in the form of religious extremists on either side. But if we look around with our eyes open, there are problems everywhere. The problems should not stand in the way for peace and prosperity in the region.

We do not need to go far, just turn our necks to the east to see with what dignity, perseverance and sanity this great first world nation JAPAN is bearing its hard times.

Our problems are minuscule in front of Japan and if we show sanity, patience and shun hatred, we could achieve peace in our region too.

As a mom again I feel so tiny for my trivial sacrifice, if there is any at all, in front of these mothers of the Fukushima-50.

One of these mothers of a Fukushima worker spoke today, tearfully saying, “My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary to save the nation. He told me they have accepted they will all probably die from radiation sickness in the short term or cancer in the long-term.”

And our two Nuclear capable nations at logger heads with each other for one excuse or the other, have more than 1.4 billion population together. The mere thought shivers me to bones, if God forbid, any nuclear accident took place here, there wouldn’t be merely 50 sufferers like Fukushima, but over 50 million or even far more.

I must admit that this thought passed my mind last night and gave me a sleepless, terrified night and pushed me to write this piece early in the morning.
Hence it is not just a few hundreds like me, who have divided families across the border, who stand at risk for any calamity if the relations between India Pakistan stayed ‘not friendly’.

There are 1.4 billion people on both the sides who are sitting write beneath the nose of nuclear weapons in the region. True the possibility of it being used is negligible, but then why such hefty expenditure in developing, maintaining and improving their ‘killing’ capabilities through big meaningless words like ‘NUCLEAR DETERRENCE’.

And  then the tensions give excuse to the vested interests( outside the region) to keep asking both sides to keep buying arms for their ‘safety’, amidst poverty, hunger, ignorance, illiteracy for millions on both sides. What if this money was used for development and not arms build up ?

Each one of us, among these  1.4 billion shall be the beneficiaries if two sides decided to digress from expenditure on arms and war preparedness, and invested in peace and prosperity in the region. Only ‘peoples  power’ can coerce the ‘top leadership’  for this. Let us ask for our ‘safety’ not through arms and ammunition but through education, health, alleviation of poverty, employment through economic activity . This is only possible if both sides are at PEACE with each other. Is this all that a far fetched dream?

Maybe, the idea looks a dream, but then dreams do come true too.

Are the bosses in the capitals Nut Alley( New Delhi) and Is Lame Abad ( Islamabad) listening too ?

( Post note: As if the night terror was not enough, the news of UN workers  killed in cold blood in Afghanistan got me nauseated. The need to seek peace and shun hatred in the region becoming even more urgent, lest we end up as savages).

Category:

India, International, Pakistan, Personal, Politics