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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

What Pakistan meant to

me What it means now

By Nidhi Shendurnikar Tere

A PhD candidate
undergoes a
life-changing
transformation in
the process of
doing her research
on media and
Indo-Pak relations

s a nationalist, patriotic and proud Indian, Pakistan hardly figured in my list

of concerns a few years ago. I neither
despised it, nor was curious about it.
The only time I thought about Pakistan was during an India-Pakistan
cricket match.
I rooted for the Indian team,
prayed for its victory (even visited the nearby temple). At that
point of time, I found nothing
more humiliating than India
losing in a cricket match
against Pakistan (a victory
of course meant jubilation!). Thinking of
Pakistan as an arch enemy, cricket was
nothing less than war and losing to Pakistan unacceptable to me and others of my
age.
The only other reference to Pakistan
was through news about bomb blasts and
terror attacks in India. I began associating Pakistan with terrorism, chaos, anarchy and everything that was anti-India.
Too nave to explore anything beyond the
mainstream discourse, my idea of Pakistan remained limited and heavily
skewed.
This began to change after 2011. It
happened through a gradual process even
without my knowing. Set for a PhD in Political Science, I was mulling over my
topic of research. After many brainstorming sessions with my to-be-supervisor, we
decided to work on an issue related to
South Asia (which is also his area of specialisation). That is how I started working
on India-Pakistan relations and the
Medias role.
Initially, I was sceptical about the entire project. Researching on India-Pakistan was not easy, it was considered to be
controversial and even my parents wondered about my choice of topic. To this
day, a mention of India-Pakistan raises
eyebrows; some question the utility of carrying out such a research, some advise
caution, some consider me brave, some
express outright displeasure, while others
remain unperturbed.
The research process required me to
undertake a thorough study of the confrontational past of the relationship. I realised that without interacting with Pakistanis my research would be one-sided
and of no consequence. My quest for the
archives of Pakistani newspapers took me
to Delhi and Chandigarh and I began looking for Pakistanis who could help me in
the process. Unaware that this would be
the beginning of a transformative journey,
I befriended many Pakistanis on Facebook
and networked with them. This opened a
new window frame for me. As our interactions swelled, friendships developed that
positively affected my attitudes and per-

Much has changed in the three and a

half years since I began this research,
made possible thanks to a deep intellectual
engagement with people from across the
border. So far I had heard tales of friendships narrated by my teachers with friends
in Pakistan. Now I have my own stories to
tell. A perspective that was amiss earlier
was gifted to me through the process of research. This year may witness the culmination of my research (hopefully); however
the process, the journey and the friendships will continue. I have always believed
in the transformative and healing power of
research that as a researcher one has to
successfully imbibe within oneself.
The short term goal of engaging in a
research project is to derive conclusions
by seeking answers to certain questions;
the long term goal is to offer a more holistic and comprehensive perspective. A life
changing vision is what this research has

Indian artist Subala Moharana completes a sand sculpture on the eve of an India-Pakistan Cricket World Cup semi-final match.
File photo: AFP
ceptions of Pakistan. I realised there was
much more to Pakistan a side undiscovered, ignored by the popular political and
media discourse in my country.
It was indeed a different Pakistan that
I discovered through a string of interactions where I found Pakistanis to be
warm, caring, reciprocative and more
than willing to discuss various issues related to my research.
I first chanced upon Rehman Ilyas
(Founder, Romancing the Border), interacted with him and ended up contributing
a piece on Indo-Pak friendship as a testimonial ('Let us be friends who respect
each other's differences, published in
Aman ki Asha in 2012).
As I began writing more and more on
Indo-Pak issues, I discovered many peacebuilding groups on social media (Aman ki
Asha, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, Romancing the
Border, Friendships Across Borders: Aao
Dosti Karein). In the beginning of this
year, I was selected for a year-long peace
building initiative by The Red Elephant
Foundation.
My Pakistani friends introduced me to
a Pakistan that I had not known of. A Pakistan with breath-taking natural landscapes, a Pakistan where people lived with

left me with. At this point of time, it feels

difficult to describe and explain what I encountered within the boundaries of terms
like methods, hypothesis, conclusions.
To confine it within the boundary of a
250 page thesis is certainly a task that I
feel less prepared for. Can friendships be
ever bound into page limits, chapters and
conclusions? Today, I strongly believe and
wish to reinforce that I cannot let love for
my own nation be construed, limited and
narrowly bracketed into hatred and antagonism for the other. It is research that
brought me to peace-building and I hope
to stay ingrained in it forever.
World Peace Day 2013: Painting For Peace India-Pakistan-Afghanistan
dreams and aspirations similar to that of
Indians, a Pakistan with striking resemblances in culture, food, festivals, music; a
Pakistan whose young citizens valued education, progress, development as much

as Indians do; a Pakistan where citizens

condemned violence, terrorism as much
as Indians did. A Pakistan that did not
hate India but looked up to the values upheld by Indian democracy and secularism.

We belong to each other

arkness cannot drive out

darkness; only light can
do that. Hate cannot
drive out hate; only
love can do that," said
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I am inspired by his
great struggle for
peace and human rights.
I believe though Peace can
only be achieved without
By Syed Mahmood wars and by non-violent acKazmi tions. It is time to abolish the
concept of war that has already caused enough destruction and suffering.
Here, I want to share my
story and how I got motivated
to join peace campaigns. In
2005, I was the victim of massive earthquake in Pakistan.
We lost our loved ones, and
many were wounded. I saw numerous people around the
Why should world come to help us -- selfbrave and dedicated. Inyoung people less,
spired by them, I joined Pakstand for istan Red Crescent Society and
many training exerpeace? underwent
cises.
As president of a youth network in my region I initiated
environmental protection and
youth advocacy programs. In
2009-2010, years where suicide bombings had paralysed
normal life, I led Emergency
Response Teams administering
First Aid and search and rescue operations. I am now a
trainer and Ambassador for
Youth as Agents of Behavioural
Change (YABC), a module of
Red Cross Red Crescent aimed
at reducing stigmas and discrimination and promoting collective action. I serve my community because I feel I owe it
to them to play an active part
for good.
"If we have no peace, it is
because we have forgotten that
we belong to each other," as

help eradicate hate and plant

the peace and love in the hearts
of youth of both countries.
Peace building is a term describing interventions designed to prevent the start or
resumption of violent conflict
by creating a sustainable
peace. Peace building activities
address the roots or potential
causes of violence, create a societal expectation for peaceful
conflict resolution and stabilize
society politically and socioeconomically.
Let's not only sit and wait
for peace, lets stand up for
peace. Let's join hands to resolve the worlds most disputed
issues and give our coming
generations a better place to
live. For that we need to play
our roles positively, share the
pain and grief of fellow human
beings, serve humanity and
challenge hatred and enmity.
Let's stand for the education,
empowerment and prosperity
of all the people in this world.
We belong to each other.
We must work for basic human
rights, gender-equality, opportunities, for a world where no
one is victimised and discriminated on the basis of color,
races or religion.

ndian writer Shobhaa De, in Pakistan last week for the Islamabad
Literary Festival, posted a series of
tweets and photos expressing her delight in being back at Pakistan, and
thumbing her nose at extremist Indian
politicians making jingoistic anti-Pakistan remarks.
She elaborated on such foolish
comments in her blog published in the
Times of India on April 27, headlined
Move to Pakistan? Our bags are
packed a reference to BJP leader
Giriraj Singhs advice to Indians having issues with Narendra Modi to pack
their bags and move to Pakistan (the
Election Commission later censured
him for his highly provocative statement).
With my gorgeous
Since I am in Pakistan , will I be
interviewer, Aliya
forced to stay there now? she
Iqbal-Naqvi at the
tweeted cheekily, posting a photo of
Islamabad Lit Fest.
her article. In her column, she writes
about a musical evening in Mumbai that reminds her of the time spent
with other, equally wonderful friends and musicians at their sprawling bungalow in Karachi a couple of years ago. It was 3 am on a cold
and crisp winter night as authentic Sufi singers (the hostesss description) were just about warming up. I was the only outsider ,
the only Indian, and the sole Hindu present. And yet (this is a very important and yet ), there wasnt a single moment of otherness as we
relaxed on soft bolsters and surrendered to the music. Later, over hot,
sticky jalebis and more tea, we chatted till the sun came up. We could

hile writing this article, I asked some

friends about this issue. I received an
overwhelming response. Due to shortage of space, I can only mention a few of them
here.
"The amazing youth of our world must organize and collaborate more locally and globally to become an unstoppable force for peace.
That is how we can dismantle the current corrupt, unjust and destructive systems that lead
to conflict, war, poverty, hopelessness, crime
and terrorism, and divisions that is propagated by a few and only serves them
while harming and destroying everyone else"
Todd Shea, Founder and CEO of Comprehensive
Disaster Response Services (CDRS), who has been
working in Pakistan since the Kashmir earthquake.

Mother Teresa so beautifully

said. Peace can never be
achieved until those living
comfortably don't feel the pain
and sufferings of the poor.
According to the UNFPA,
the worlds 1.8 billion youth
comprise a quarter of the total
population. This can be a great
strength to drive out the darkness, undermine hatred and
promote peace, if only we develop our inner self-compassion, empathy, mindfulness,
humbleness, humanity, gratitude, courage and truthfulness.
Young people can lead the nation to the heights of self-determination, integrity and
courage. If the young people of
any nation are lazy in working
for positive change, then the
foundations of the nations are
ruined.
There some inspiring initiatives by young people, like
Parinday: Indo-Pak Friendship
(https://www.facebook.com/lov
e. parinday), started by Hina
Hazrat and Jatin Kataria in
February 2012. This project
continues, with young people
sharing experiences and doing
pilot activities. Such peacebuilding projects by young people from both countries can

The author is a Political Science

doctoral candidate at The Maharaja
Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Gujarat, and a research fellow of the
University Grants Commission
working on India-Pakistan Conflict
Mediation and Role of Media

Shobhaa De-liciously de-fiant

Peace-builders say...

In unity there is strength: Fourth National Youth Peace Festival 2013, Lahore

I cannot let
love for my own
nation be construed,
limited and narrowly
bracketed into
hatred and
antagonism
for the other

"Without peace you can not progress as a society. Minds that are clear of
anger and fear can be filled with love and compassion. I live in the United
States and for most of my life have lived in safe areas. I believe that even when
people live in a state of peace it is their obligation to help their brothers and
sisters in other nations enjoy that same feeling. It is important to recognize
that all young people have unique skills that they can use to meet the needs
of those who are not in a peaceful state. Young people must first listen to the
voice of the community in need. Then they need to orient themselves with
what is occurring in order to achieve meaningful action."
Dan Coviello, UN Youth representative at TaruMitra
"The children and youth are the future in present. We all want a peaceful
world, so should stand for Peace."
Christina Anderson, Head Representative at
The World Peace Committee
"Adults are so fixed in their ways and many are not open to change. The
youth will take their place in the future so we must focus on them and unite
them for our common purpose of PEACE."
Timothy Peace John-Baptiste,
Director, Time4WorldPeace
"The youth in majority of the population in our country and many countries. If they can come together and rise above through peace within them,
they will then be able to give it to the rest, the rest will give it to others and our
coming generations."
Bilal Masood, Founder, Crossing Borders
The writer is a Youth Parliamentarian at Youth Parliament of
Pakistan and Intern at Friendship Ambassadors Foundation.
Twitter @SMahmoodKazmi; blog:
www.syedmahmoodkazmi.wordpress.com

Brave initiative. Must support. At the Islamabad Lit Fest.

have been in Mumbai, Delhi, Lahoreanywhere in the world. This is
how it can and should be.
India must demonstrate its contempt for the Giriraj Singhs who
point unbiased citizens to Pakistan, as if damning them to purgatory.
Hatred and prejudice can only corrode our country. So, yes, I am willing to go to Pakistan, if thats what it takes to stand up for what is
right and just. It might surprise Giriraj to discover how many Indians
are ready to join me! she writes.
Beena Sarwar

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contributing to genuine and durable peace with honour between our countries.