Aman belongs to the strong and independent
Message from Tarun Vijay, Director, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, BJP Head Quarters, New Delhi
Peace belongs to those who are powerful and independent decision makers. Not to those who fight with their brothers and depend on dollars to live and make merry in New York. They can be subjugated souls, create wars and hold 'Track Two' dramas taking money for their scotches and Vodkas but can never ever touch the pulse of the people who survive on corn and rice.
India and Pakistan might be two countries, but they are one people and one culture. I have seen it with my eyes while visiting Pakistan seven times from Taxila to Balochistan.
If the white man's mischief was not so strong, playing havoc with our land and people, we would be living much more happily and with peace. Aman ki Asha must mean two independent entities, willing to talk and resolve their conflicts at the negotiating table with full power in their own houses. Two powers who are in control of their destinies and have a mechanism that can effectively control the elements they dislike. The people of Pakistan and India want Aman; they hate the hostilities.
From Barmer border to Mirpurkhas and Karachi and Hingol on Gwadar highway, I saw common people lined up to welcome us - when we visited the renowned and highly revered Hindu shrine Mata Hinglaj Mandir with Shri Jaswant Singh, an ardent Devi Bhakta. These were not dramatics by the government. It was for real and very genuine. I wrote the exact scenes in Panchjanya on my return, a newspaper run by those who believe in RSS. Readers were amazed but none complained why I wrote good, positive reflections about Pakistanis. I was able to complete my preparations with help from my best friend, who symbolizes the friendly spirit of Pakistan, Mahmood Shaam. I can anytime give my blank cheque to him and accept his verdict. Such is my faith in him.
But when Kasabs come to Mumbai and hateful 'taliban' run amok, the trust shatters and walls are created. How can you do that and still want peace with us? Just for some mad heads? In a situation when many Pakistanis are also feeling enraged over the extremism and violence, it's time for the cultural roots to take precedence over everything else. Why should we feel shy to accept we are one people, two countries? Why shouldn't we think what stoking fires in Kashmir has given Pakistan? Is it not the right time to rethink and reshape its domestic policies and concentrate on making Pakistanis happier, more literate, more enterprising and empowering socially disadvantaged sections? Why can't Pakistani rulers think that their best friend can be India alone? China or America extract their price of support. How can anyone else be closer to Pakistan as we can, so naturally? But the hatred for Hindus, which is at the base of anything that emerges from Pakistan against India, must be shunned. It has not helped Pakistan. A smaller country, it could have developed into a haven, with its rich resources and industrious manpower. But it has gone into a pit of bombs and bomb makers and no one knows who is ruling it. And look where India with its Hindu majority and liberal ideas has reached. We would like you to come along as equal friend. Think why Pakistan has missed the bus of future.
We are brothers, blood brothers, try to behave like sons of the same mother and with the blessings of Allah and Ram ji, we shall together emerge as the greatest power on this earth. Revive the spirit of 1857, remember Dahir belongs to us all; Mohenjodaro and Panini are a shared legacy. We are you and you are us.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Peace belongs to those who are powerful and independent decision makers. Not to those who fight with their brothers and depend on dollars to live and make merry in New York. They can be subjugated souls, create wars and hold 'Track Two' dramas taking money for their scotches and Vodkas but can never ever touch the pulse of the people who survive on corn and rice.
India and Pakistan might be two countries, but they are one people and one culture. I have seen it with my eyes while visiting Pakistan seven times from Taxila to Balochistan.
If the white man's mischief was not so strong, playing havoc with our land and people, we would be living much more happily and with peace. Aman ki Asha must mean two independent entities, willing to talk and resolve their conflicts at the negotiating table with full power in their own houses. Two powers who are in control of their destinies and have a mechanism that can effectively control the elements they dislike. The people of Pakistan and India want Aman; they hate the hostilities.
From Barmer border to Mirpurkhas and Karachi and Hingol on Gwadar highway, I saw common people lined up to welcome us - when we visited the renowned and highly revered Hindu shrine Mata Hinglaj Mandir with Shri Jaswant Singh, an ardent Devi Bhakta. These were not dramatics by the government. It was for real and very genuine. I wrote the exact scenes in Panchjanya on my return, a newspaper run by those who believe in RSS. Readers were amazed but none complained why I wrote good, positive reflections about Pakistanis. I was able to complete my preparations with help from my best friend, who symbolizes the friendly spirit of Pakistan, Mahmood Shaam. I can anytime give my blank cheque to him and accept his verdict. Such is my faith in him.
But when Kasabs come to Mumbai and hateful 'taliban' run amok, the trust shatters and walls are created. How can you do that and still want peace with us? Just for some mad heads? In a situation when many Pakistanis are also feeling enraged over the extremism and violence, it's time for the cultural roots to take precedence over everything else. Why should we feel shy to accept we are one people, two countries? Why shouldn't we think what stoking fires in Kashmir has given Pakistan? Is it not the right time to rethink and reshape its domestic policies and concentrate on making Pakistanis happier, more literate, more enterprising and empowering socially disadvantaged sections? Why can't Pakistani rulers think that their best friend can be India alone? China or America extract their price of support. How can anyone else be closer to Pakistan as we can, so naturally? But the hatred for Hindus, which is at the base of anything that emerges from Pakistan against India, must be shunned. It has not helped Pakistan. A smaller country, it could have developed into a haven, with its rich resources and industrious manpower. But it has gone into a pit of bombs and bomb makers and no one knows who is ruling it. And look where India with its Hindu majority and liberal ideas has reached. We would like you to come along as equal friend. Think why Pakistan has missed the bus of future.
We are brothers, blood brothers, try to behave like sons of the same mother and with the blessings of Allah and Ram ji, we shall together emerge as the greatest power on this earth. Revive the spirit of 1857, remember Dahir belongs to us all; Mohenjodaro and Panini are a shared legacy. We are you and you are us.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Boy leaves for India for heart surgery under Aman Ki Asha initiative
our correspondent
LAHORE: Four-year-old Muhammad Ali will leave for India for heart surgery under the Aman Ki Asha Heart to Heart initiative along with his .....more
our correspondentLAHORE: Four-year-old Muhammad Ali will leave for India for heart surgery under the Aman Ki Asha Heart to Heart initiative along with his .....more
Social media enthusiasts descend on the city
Citizen diplomacy can bolster Pak-India peace efforts, says US consul general
Sidrah Roghay
US Consul General William Martin said that the people of Pakistan and I .....more
Citizen diplomacy can bolster Pak-India peace efforts, says US consul general Sidrah Roghay
US Consul General William Martin said that the people of Pakistan and I .....more
Call for peace via social media
By Beena Sarwar
Karachi
The restrictive visa regime between India and Pakistan nearly stymied the 'India' part of the First India-Pakistan Social Media Mela in Kara .....more
By Beena SarwarKarachi
The restrictive visa regime between India and Pakistan nearly stymied the 'India' part of the First India-Pakistan Social Media Mela in Kara .....more
BRIEFS
Coming up: the first Pakistan-India Social Media Mela 2012. Organised by Peaceniche, the event promises to be truly "a fes .....more
Indo-Pak "Social Media Mela"
Coming up: the first Pakistan-India Social Media Mela 2012. Organised by Peaceniche, the event promises to be truly "a fes .....more
Mumbai to Lahore and back
Shiraz Hassan and Chintan Girish Modi 'met' on Twitter,
following an article Chintan had written about his visit to Lahore. With a shared passion for music, travel an .....more
Shiraz Hassan and Chintan Girish Modi 'met' on Twitter, following an article Chintan had written about his visit to Lahore. With a shared passion for music, travel an .....more
Cartesian irrelevancies
I am an Indian citizen, born on Pakistan's National Day, March 23rd, 1962, in New Delhi, in a .....more
Rajiv Ramanujam on why people should meet and travel
I am an Indian citizen, born on Pakistan's National Day, March 23rd, 1962, in New Delhi, in a .....more
Page 44 of 178
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