20

The peace process

and the marginalised

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Amit Ranjan

Representatives
of a particular
class manage to
obtain visas for
cross-border
visits, while
ordinary people
continue to be
denied

Dhonis new
Pakistani fan

The Indian captain won over a

new fan when he arranged a
complimentary pass for a die-hard
Pakistani cricket lover
Visa line outside the Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi. File photo

lmost all visitors who cross over

to the other side of the India-Pakistan border come back talking
about India-Pakistan peace,
praising Lahoris or Delhiwallas for their warm hospitality,
and asking why there is a
conflict despite having similar culture, food, language.
But if Lahoris like
Delhi so much, and
vice-versa, why have
the two countries, even after
sixty-six years
failed resolve even a single dispute
between them? Why does the IndiaPakistan border remain tense?
We often hear the mantra about
the need to increase people-to-people contacts in order to improve bilateral relations between India and
Pakistan -- but what is the definition of people? Is it limited to a certain class or an inclusive category?
Representatives of a particular
class manage to obtain visas for
such cross-border visits, while ordinary people continue to be denied. The pervasive discrimination
when it comes to granting visa to
the poor and unconnected is all too
obvious.

I witnessed this discrimination

a few months ago, when I visited
the Pakistan High Commission in
New Delhi to obtain a visa, for a
conference in Pakistan. I stood in a
queue with more than a hundred
people trying to obtain visas to
Pakistan.
Unlike me, most
of them wanted to
visit Pakistan to visit
relatives, to attend weddings or just to see their
loved ones. Some had
come from Rampur,
Ajmer, or other, more faroff places. Most had spent
the night outside the Pakistan High
commission, either because they
couldnt afford to stay in a hotel, or
in order to beat the queue.
After all that trouble they were
unsure whether they would get a
visa or not. Some had been denied
a visa in the past. But they were so
desperate to see their loved ones
across the border that they had returned to try their luck again. For
that they had to spend a part of
their meagre savings, but if they got
the visa, they thought it was worth
it.
There was an eighty-year old
woman who wanted to meet her

Your India, my Pakistan

Transliteration of a Hindi/Urdu poem,
with its English translation
By Ashay Abbhi

Mere Hindustan ki tang galiyon se hota,

khulta tha darwaza tere Pakistan ka.
Woh tera jahan jiski zamin hai mujhsi,
yeh mera jahan tere aasmaan sa

Iss sadak par ghar hai mera wahin,

jahan tera ghar hua karta tha..
aaj bhi hai wohi basti, wohi mohalla,
fark hai to bas kinaare ke kis paar ka..

Through the narrow lanes of my India,

the doors to your Pakistan I found..
Your world whose land resembles me,
my world with skies like you abound

My house is still there on that road,

where your house used to be..
It's still the same backyard, same world,
only now on different sides of the ground..

Teri azaanon ki goonjon mein

meri duaen qubool hoti thi
Tere Quran-e-pak mein dhundhta,
nishaan main apne bhagwan ka

Kal tak teri chaukhat meri raahdaar thi,

mera kamra tha tera raazdaar
muddat hui teri chaukhat dikhe use,
ghamgin hai ghar mera bimaar sa

In the echoes of your prayers,

my appeals were answered..
In the holy verses of your Quran,
Traces of my God resound

Your doorway was my best friend,

my room was your confidante..
It's been so long since they saw each other,
in feverish depression my room has drowned..

Teri jaanib se aayi thandi hawa

dastak deti thi mere darwaze par
meri basti mein gire patte,
batate they haal tere gulsitan ka..

Kaati hai kisne yeh raahein hamari,

kisne kheenchi yeh lakeeron ki deewar..
Sochta hun jo teri aankhon ke baare mein,
dikhta hai ek aansu iss paar ke intezaar ka

A cool breeze from your side,

knocked on the door of my abode..
The tidings of your yard are told,
by the fallen leaves in my compound..

These lanes were divided by who,

who built this wall of borders..
often when I think about your eyes,
I see a solitary longing tear so profound..

Meri Diwali ke diyon ki lau se,

raushan hota tha tera sama..
Woh teri Eid ki sewaiyon mein chupa,
milta tha salaam uss burhi maa ka

likhti hai meri kalam teri syahi se,

meri ghazal teri dhun piroti hai
kuch duur ho gaye hain tere lafz mujhse,
kuch tujhe hai intezaar meri awaaz ka

Your world brightened every night,

by the light of my Diwali..
in the taste of sweets on your Eid,
was your mother's love around

The ink in my pen is but yours,

yours is the melody in my ballad..
now your words are aloof from me,
now you yearn desperately for my sound..

Thithurti raaton mein tere koylon ko,

meri aag ne garmi ki chadar di thi..
garmi mein tapti meri peshaani pe,
ghulta resha tere libaas ka..

Inn koochon mein khamosh kuch sadayein,

andheron mein gum tasveeron se kehti hain
woh tere Hindustan ke aaine mein,
aks milta hai mere Pakistan ka.

My fire blanketed in its warmth,

your coals on frigid nights..
the threads of your tattered clothes dissolved,
sweeping sweat off my forehead's mound..

The silent sounds in these bylanes,

whisper to the images lost in the dark..
in every mirror of your India,
ruminates my Pakistan unbound.

Akshay is an analyst in the field of contemporary energy issues,

and a volunteer with the Red Elephant Foundation. Twitter @Hashdouble.
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relatives in Pakistan once before

dying. She had been denied because of the lack of legitimate
documents. With tears in her eyes
she cursed her fate, telling me that
she had been trying for a Pakistani
visa since April 2013.
I met a gentleman
from Surat, Gujarat,
married to a Pakistani
woman. They have two
children aged 15 and
17 years. His wife has
been denied Indian
citizenship to which
she is entitled due to her marital status. So she still has a Pakistani passport, and has to renew
her Indian visa every three years.
This time she was going to Pakistan to renew her passport.
A Hindu woman from Baroda,
who now had Indian nationality,
wanted to visit Karachi to see her
ailing father there.
There were so many others in
that queue, each with their own sad
experiences and sufferings due to
the cruel India-Pakistan visa
regime.
I was fortunate to get the visa,
as my conference organisers had
got me a clearance letter.
After crossing the Wagah bor-

ahendra Singh Dhoni is known to walk the talk. So,

when he declared that the hostility associated with an
India-Pakistan encounter is long over, Dhoni meant it
and his subsequent action proved it.
The Indian captain on Saturday arranged a complimentary pass
for a die-hard Pakistani cricket fan Mohammed Bashir, who had
come to Mirpur, Bangladesh, from Chicago to support the Pakistani
team.
After Pakistan were knocked out in the group stage, Bashir
stayed back to watch India play the final and is now a "die-hard
Dhoni fan".
"I was watching India's training session but I didn't have any
tickets. Dhoni has seen me before the Champions Trophy's IndoPak game in Birmingham. I told him that I don't have a ticket to
watch the finals, said Bashir.
"Dhoni then called Kaka (trainer Ramesh 'Mane Kaka') and told
him to arrange for my ticket. Kaka promptly gave me a complimentary pass. I am completely moved by his gesture".
He was over the moon after Dhoni also briefly interacted with
him.
"He (Dhoni) asked about me and I told him that I am settled in
Chicago. Since I was standing there for a long time, he told someone to give me fruits. I am a Pakistan fan but for today, I am a Dhoni
fan. Also I have another India connection. I am Hyderabad's sonin-law as my wife hails from the region," said Bashir, flaunting his
final match pass.
During Pakistan's matches, Bashir could be seen wearing a
giant sized kurta in the design of his national flag. He has also been
a big hit among the local fans after supporting Bangladesh during
one of their matches.
Bashir runs a Mughlai restaurant in Chicago named "Ghareeb
Nawaz" which specialises in biryani.
The cricket-mad Pakistani-American plans to travel to Australia
and New Zealand next year for the 50-over World Cup, paying extra
for the India-Pakistan match. I would have bought it had it cost
even more," he says.
--TOI

der, I met some ordinary Pakistanis

who had had a similar experience
at Indian High Commission, Islamabad.
One gentleman told me that all
he wanted was to visit Daryaganj,
New Delhi, from where his father
had migrated during the bloody
partition of 1947. He had unsuccessfully tried several times to get
a visa for India.
Another wanted to visit his ancestral home in Attari, a stones
throw from Wagah border, but he
also has yet to obtain a visa.
Unless ordinary people are allowed to cross the border, any
peace process will remain unfulfilled and elite-centric.
Those who get visas can praise
the other sides hospitality endlessly, but what we really need to
do is to fight for the rights of the
marginalised who are being emotionally tortured due to India-Pakistans callous attitude towards
their poor.
Amit Ranjan did his Phd on
'Political Economy of Water Conflicts in South Asia: A Study of
Inter-Provincial Water Conflicts
in India and Pakistan' from
JNU, New Delhi

B R I E F S

Pyaar Border Paar

A big fat Karachi-Bhopal wedding

hezrae Aziz from Karachi and Faiz Rashid from Bhopal met in Dubai last
September, introduced by their grandmothers. It didnt take them long to decide to tie the knot they were married in Karachi on Feb 15.
I realise it sounds more like an arranged marriage but we really did fall in
love! says Shezrae, whose family traveled to Bhopal for an extended celebration
starting on Feb 28. It was all very quick. But very perfect.
The bride and grooms families have known each other for three generations
from Shezraes fathers side and Faizs mothers side; their grandfathers were close
friends. Also, Faizs mother Bano is a Karachiite and still has family there.
Shezrae, who has an American passport, has moved to Bhopal where Faizs
family is in the hospitality business. Faiz runs the Jehan Numa Palace Hotel, while
his younger brother runs the Reni Pani Jungle Lodge and the Jehan Numa Retreat
a few hours from the city.

A soulmate across the border

To welcome Dr. Amir at my house in Mumbai was a special moment in my life

By Yogesh Mathuria

t was a mutual Sindhi friend

Sanjay Mudnaney from Mumbai
who introduced me to Dr. Amir
Abbas Soomro in Karachi on
Facebook. Somehow, I felt destiny
was waiting for us to get connected.
Very soon, I got very close to him, realising that we both have many
things in common.
After just about two months of
being Facebook friends, I learnt that
Dr. Amir was planning to visit India
to support his nephews heart
surgery in New Delhi. I jumped with
excitement when I heard this, and
immediately got in touch with him
on WhatsApp, requesting him to visit
Mumbai.
Dr. Amir had a very eventful trip
to India. Once his primary work of
helping his nephew with the surgery
was done, he started visiting various
places of historic value around New
Delhi. He also went to Mount Abu,
where he was felicitated by the Brah-

makumaris. I was deeply touched by

his connection with his heart, which
brings out how pure a soul he is.
When I got to know that Dr. Amir
was coming to Mumbai straight after
Mount Abu, I invited him to stay with
us. I was a bit hesitant at first because we have a small house, and I
did not want him to be uncomfortable. He accepted my invitation
sportingly. I was eagerly looking for-

ward to this opportunity to meet a

person from across the border.
To welcome Dr. Amir at my
house in Mumbai was a special moment in my life. I felt closer than ever
to my dreams about world peace,
and the ultimate goal of a borderless
peaceful world. I felt so much
warmth that I was convinced that
my dream would not remain just a
dream.

A special moment: (L-R) Bhumi Mathuria (Yogesh's daughter), Yogesh Mathuria,

Jayesh Patel, Dr. Amir Abbas Soomro, Sanjay Mudnaney

I was promised all possible support to get a visa for my peace pilgrimage to Pakistan. I was also invited to visit Karachi along with my
family. Three days did not seem
enough but it was good to know that
we had technology at our disposal in
order to communicate frequently.
Dr. Amir began to share my vision of a peace pilgrimage with many
people from his circle of influence
back home in Karachi, and I was
flooded with Facebook friend requests from across the border. I am
really humbled by his extraordinary
heart and support.
Note: Yogesh Mathuria describes himself as a peaceful
warrior and life coach. Having
left a well-paying IT career, he
now runs the Wellness Lounge.
He plans to do a walking pilgrimage from Mumbai to Islamabad in the last quarter of 2014.
Excerpt from a story in
Friendships Across Borders: Aao
Dosti Karein, contributed by
Chintan Girish Modi
www.facebook.com/fabaaodostikarein

A peace initiative whose time has come...

Destination Peace: A commitment by the Jang Group, Geo and The Times of India Group to
create an enabling environment that brings the people of Pakistan and India closer together,
contributing to genuine and durable peace with honour between our countries.