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ACHA PEACE BULLETIN

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http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin

A publication of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org

 

Editors:

David Campion, PhD           campion@lclark.edu

Pritam K. Rohila, PhD          pritam@open.org

 

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Volume VIII, No. 7, July 17, 2005; Next Issue, August 15, 2005

 

CONTENTS

 

EDITORIAL

 

PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM & ABOUT SOUTH ASIA

South Asia

India

Pakistan-India

India-Bangladesh

Nepal

 

FEATURES

 

PEACE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

 

PEACE EVENTS

 

(Readers are invited to submit similar information from other areas of South Asia to help us broaden of our coverage. Please send the info to pritamr@open.org, a week before the date of publication of the next issue of the ACHA Peace Bulletin)

 

 

 

EDITORIAL

 

Disabling Terrorism, Enabling Peace

Pritam K. Rohila, PhD

 

Some countries, like India, have struggled with the demon of terrorism for many years and have probably lost more civilians to terrorism than any other nation. But ever since the United States and its allies have declared “War on Terrorism,” the character of terrorism has changed substantially and its incidence all over the world has increased tremendously.

 

Terrorists are now using methods of communicating with each other, which are difficult for the authorities to intercept. They are employing weapons, which are hard for the security forces to detect. They are choosing targets, which are easier by them to access. Terrorists appear to be attracting more willing recruits than ever before. Meanwhile, in the United States there is steady encroachment upon civil rights of its citizens, while around the world the country seems to be losing friends and making enemies.

 

A strategy, which complicates the targeted problems rather than resolving them, needs to be revised. Also the ideology that drives it must be reexamined.  In this context recommendations of the Second International Roundtable on Constructing Peace, Deconstructing Terror, may be helpful to us. The conference was held June 26-27, at Brussels, Belgium, according to a press release from Semu Bhatt of the Mumbai-based think-tank Strategic Foresight Group.

 

Thirty-five eminent leaders from many Islamic countries as well as Europe and the Americas participated in it.  They included Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki al Faisal, Oman’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr, Nahdatul Ulama Chairman Lamine Ba, Senegal’s Cooperation Minister Hasyim Muzadi, Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Leader of European Parliament’s Liberal Democratic Group Graham Watson, Belgium’s Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht, and Northern Ireland Parliament’s former Speaker Lord Alderdice. Several former Foreign Ministers including Gareth Evans of Australia, Yasar Yakis of Turkey, Kamel Abu Jaber of Jordan, and Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli of Iran also attended the meeting.

 

The group defined terrorist act as “any politically motivated action that is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants, when the purpose of such an act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.”  They declared, “No cause or grievance, no matter how legitimate, justifies the deliberate killing of civilians and non-combatants.” They recommended that all such acts must be “totally rejected” and punished in accordance with relevant international conventions and laws of the affected state.  They suggested that eradicating terror and cultivating peace require a global, multidimensional strategy.

 

The roundtable was of the view that religion is often “misappropriated” by individuals or groups for a violent purpose, and that it is “inappropriate and misleading” to identify any religion with terrorism.  The participants noted that often punitive and coercive measures are used exclusively to deal with terrorism. They recommended that the strategy be based on principles of justice and human dignity, and should reflect an appreciation of conditions that engender terrorism. It should include dialog, negotiation, and persuasion as well.  The participants called for a summit of world leaders to deliberate on their recommendations labelled “The Brussels Consensus.”

  

The Brussels roundtable was part of the Sustainable Global Security Initiative of Strategic Foresight Group (SFG). It was co-hosted by SFG (www.strategicforesight.com) and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament and Strategic Foresight Group, in co-operation with Friedrich Naumann Stiftung.

 

 

PEACE & HARMONY NEWS FROM & ABOUT SOUTH ASIA

 

* South Asia

 

Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh seek Delhi Metro’s help

New Delhi: South Asian Media

 

The success of the Delhi Metro project, especially of the newly added line to the heart of the national capital, has prompted India’s neighbors to seek its help for similar projects in their cities.  “Several countries have sought assistance from us. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka want our help to implement similar metro projects in their cities,” said E Sreedharan, managing director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.  “Two teams from Pakistan have already visited us to study the project and look at the feasibility of similar ones in their country,” Sreedharan told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar here on Wednesday.  According to him, a team from Sri Lanka too had visited India and sought help for a similar project in Colombo. “We are expecting a team from Bangladesh soon,” he added.

 

Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=220954&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN

 

SAARC to reach multilateral tax treaty

New Delhi, South Asian Media

 

In what would be India's first multilateral tax treaty, countries under the ambit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are putting final touches to a SAARC Limited Multilateral Agreement on avoidance of double taxation and mutual administrative assistance in tax matters.  Three rounds of meetings have already been held and the next meeting is slated to be held on August 30. It would encompass four elements pertaining to students, professors, teachers and research scholars, exchange of information and assistance in collection of taxes, a finance ministry official said. Officials said that the limited DTAA would extend tax exemption to students, teachers, professors and research scholars.

 

Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=220934&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN

 

* India

 

Indian Prime Minister sets off for US talks

New Delhi, BBC South Asia, 16 July

 

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has departed on a three day state visit to the United States.  Mr Singh is due to hold talks with President George Bush and address a joint session of the US Congress.  Correspondents say both sides are keen to deepen their existing economic, energy and defense ties.  However, there are no signs that Washington is prepared to support a campaign to include India in a reformed United Nations Security Council.  Since Mr Bush’s re-election, his new Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has stressed the importance of good relations with India.  “In my meetings with President Bush, I look forward to a comprehensive review of our bilateral relations. The United States is our largest trading partner,” Mr Singh said before flying out of India. “Accelerated economic cooperation, relating to trade investment and technology collaboration is a primary objective. We hope to enhance the content of our interactions in the field of space and civilian nuclear energy cooperation,” he said.

 

Nuclear energy has been a problematic area between the two nations. The US has refused to cooperate in the nuclear field because of India's refusal to sign up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  But there are indications that Mr Bush will invite India to join in some international nuclear research projects.  The two men are also likely to discuss a pipeline project taking gas from Iran to India via Pakistan.  The US has raised objections to the project because of its opposition to the current government in Tehran.  During his three-day stay, Mr Singh is also due to meet senior members of Mr Bush’s cabinet, including Vice President Dick Cheney as well as leading figures from the Indian-American community.  His talks with Mr Bush are scheduled for Monday and he addresses Congress on Tuesday.  Mr Singh is due to stop in Germany en route to the US.

 

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4689189.stm

 

Major push for India-US relations

Washington, Seema Sirohi, BBC South Asia, 16 July

 

The current visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the United States is expected to lead to a deeper and broader strategic partnership between the two countries.  The enthusiasm among both US and Indian officials to push the relationship to a much higher level is palpable.  The Bush administration is pulling out all the stops to welcome Mr Singh to the White House to show its seriousness about engaging with India.  Mr Singh will address a joint session of the US Congress - a rare honour granted to close allies - where there is bipartisan support for stronger relations. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran.  The two sides are working on agreements covering science and technology, energy, education, agriculture and space and nuclear cooperation.  There are also attempts to make India a base to manufacture drugs to treat HIV-AIDS.  The push for a broader partnership with India has gained momentum during the second Bush Administration as the US builds alliances in Asia.

 

Much of the credit for this new focus on India has gone to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her close advisers who believe India’s geo-political importance is growing given its expanding economy and military strength. The Bush Administration has publicly said it wants to help India become a world power.  President Bush is expected to announce US willingness to help India overcome its serious energy needs with nuclear technology – something the US has long denied India because it has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  There is, however, considerable opposition within US policy circles to treating India as an exception to the nuclear non-proliferation regime.  But the US president has been pushing for the use of nuclear energy as a way to meet the growing global demand for oil.  Analysts say he may invite India to join the US as a partner in international nuclear research projects, something that Indian scientists have wanted for some time.  The two leaders are due to issue a joint statement after their official talks, outlining their vision for the future.  Indian officials expect that Mr Bush will end the remaining sanctions imposed against India after Delhi conducted nuclear tests in 1998.

 

Indian officials say that one of the highlights of the visit will be the newly constituted chief executive officers (CEOs) forum, which includes top business leaders from both countries.  Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen said 10 CEOs each from both sides covering a variety of industries will advise both governments on how to increase US investment in India and start joint production in the crucial defense sector.  The recently concluded defense framework agreement envisages US defense corporations jointly producing and marketing weapons to third countries.  A report released on Thursday by the Washington-based think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, recommends not only greater space and nuclear cooperation between the US and India but says Washington should support India’s aspirations for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.  While US support for India's bid for a seat at the UN top table seems unlikely, there will be other concrete achievements, say both Indian and US officials.  Robert Blackwill, US ambassador to India in the first Bush administration, said while releasing the report that India was a natural partner for the US given the convergence of national interests of both countries.  “The routes of the international system are changing right now. The rise of India and China is more important than the disintegration of the Soviet Union or the unification of Germany,” he said.

 

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4685741.stm

 

CDNP action plan on persisting danger of nuclear weapons

Panaji, Goa, The Hindu, 27 June

 

The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), [India], an umbrella organization of more than 200 civil society organizations, on June 26 issued a call for a nation-wide observance of one-minute silence on August 6 and 9 to commemorate the 50th [60th] anniversary of the dropping of nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which resulted in the immediate death of more than two lakh people.  The CNDP is aimed at “sensitizing governments and policy-makers” to the dangers of the nuclear arms race in the world as also in the Indian sub-continent. It concluded a two-day meeting of its National Coordination Committee (NCC) here on Sunday.  Achin Vanaik, academician and activist, who addressed the group, said the US had demanded and obtained an apology from Japan for bombing Pearl Harbor (US base in the Far East) which triggered U.S. participation in World War-II but the US itself has refused to apologize for dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  “Unless we recognize the horrors and wrongfulness of what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world cannot rid itself of nuclear weapons,” Mr. Vanaik said.

 

*Pakistan-India

 

Pakistan offers nuclear deal to India

Auckland, New Zealand, Daily Times, June 18

 

Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Friday he has proposed nuclear disarmament with India to ensure peace and stability between the nuclear-armed neighbors.  Gen Musharraf said Pakistan had gone “much further” than proposing a no first-strike nuclear policy in order to build confidence between the South Asian rivals.  “We have suggested (nuclear) disarmament and reduction of forces,” he said. Pakistan also opposes nuclear proliferation and was “against any other country acquiring nuclear weapons,” he told reporters after talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark in the northern city of Auckland.  Musharraf said he was committed to a “rapprochement” with India, and was working with its Prime Minister Manmohan Singh toward that goal. Progress toward ending the decades-old fight over Kashmir was being made, he said.  “We see light at the end of the tunnel in our efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute once and for all,” he said, adding that the “opportunity must be grasped”. “I have no doubt it can be resolved,” he later told the Auckland Foreign Correspondents’ Club.

Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=214711&category=frontend&Country=main&pro=0

 

Indian editors to visit Pakistan

New Delhi, The Hindu, June 18

 

Over 30 senior editors and owners of the newspaper industry will make a five-day visit to Pakistan from June 20 for the 500th meeting of the Executive Committee of the Indian Newspaper Society at the invitation of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA).  During the visit, the executive led by INS President Pradeep Guha, would hold round table conference and discussions with representatives of the All Pakistan Newspaper Society and the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors, he said.

 

Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=214677&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN

 

Jammu & Kashmir ceasefire likely

Srinagar, Rediff.com News, June 17


Militant groups in Kashmir may soon agree to a ceasefire.  With the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, the Indian government and Islamabad under pressure to show results from the Hurriyat leaders’ fifteen-day Pakistan visit, the ceasefire may be a perfect face-saver for all three.  The decision to declare a ceasefire was taken after a series of secret meetings between senior Hurriyat leaders and heads of militant groups in Pakistan.  According to the agreed formula, the Hurriyat Conference, probably after the reunification of its two factions, would make an appeal from Srinagar to both – the militant groups and India – to cease fire.

However, it is not clear yet how the reunification of two Hurriyat groups – one led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and the other by hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani – would be achieved.  It is also not clear whether Pakistan and India have approved the ceasefire idea formally.  Mehmood Saghar, Pakistan-based senior vice-president of the Democratic Freedom Party, said the details of the ceasefire agreement have been worked out.  According to a United Jihad Council member, some members are resisting the idea of a ceasefire.  The Hurriyat leaders have for long been committed to a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir imbroglio. However, if they make an appeal for a ceasefire, it will be their first.

Though there are doubts whether militants would heed their appeal, but that is where, people in the know of things say, Pakistan will step in.  “It is for Pakistan to ask the militants to declare a ceasefire. It is not for the Hurriyat Conference to ask or appeal to the mujahideen to put down guns,” Hurriyat Conference delegate Fazlul Haq Qureshi told this correspondent.  Refusing to divulge the contents of their secret meetings with militant leaders, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik described the meetings as “courtesy calls”.  Most of the Hurriyat leaders argued for peace in their meetings with militant groups. However, at least one Hurriyat Conference leader is said to have asked Hizbaul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin, at one of the meetings, to continue militancy in order to maintain an edge over the Indians.

 

The United Jihad Council had decided not to hold any formal meetings with the visiting Hurriyat Conference delegation.  “We decided to receive the Hurriyat Conference leaders individually and not as part of the Hurriyat Conference delegation,” a United Jihad Council member told this correspondent.  “To my knowledge, only the leaders of the Jamiatul Mujahideen and Hizbul Momineen from the United Jihad Council refused to meet any Hurriyat Conference leader,” he said.  Delegations of the Jamatud Dawah/Lashkar-e-Tayiba also held meetings with Hurriyat Conference leaders separately. However, it is not known if Hafiz Saeed (chief of the Jamatud Dawah and leader of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba) held any meeting with them.  The Hurriyat Conference leaders and Pakistan seem to have agreed to restructure the shattered Hurriyat Conference into a formidable alliance to press India to include representatives of Kashmiri people in the ongoing peace process.  Pakistan, quite clearly, has begun giving more importance to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

The state-run Pakistan Television has begun referring to Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the chief of the rival Hurriyat faction, as a buzurg (a respectable elderly man) leader instead as Hurriyat Conference chairman.  Another Hurriyat Conference leader told this correspondent that the prospects of the reunification of the Hurriyat Conference were never brighter than today.  According to the agreed-upon formula, the small splinter groups such as the Peoples League and Muslim Conference, which make up what is known as the Hurriyat Conference (Geelani group) will merge with their parent parties in the Hurriyat Conference (Ansari group).  The parties such as the Anjaman-i-Shari Shian and National Front would rejoin the Hurriyat Conference (Ansari). Some of the new parties such as Shabbir Shah's Democratic Freedom Party will also join the united Hurriyat Conference.  The JKLF may be the last or one of the last parties to rejoin the Hurriyat Conference. Yasin Malik told this correspondent that the JKLF would rejoin the Hurriyat Conference only if it “really reunified”.  There is still some confusion regarding Syed Ali Shah Geelani's political future.  However, most sources insist that Pakistan and Geelani have not parted ways and the two will once again work in harmony. According to some sources in the Hurriyat Conference, Pakistan will once again extend an invitation to Geelani to visit Islamabad which he would most probably accept.

 

If all works to the script, Geelani would come and resolve his differences with Pakistan and will get a ceremonial post in the restructured Hurriyat Conference.  Some Hurriyat Conference leaders believe that, under the given international security situation and the ongoing war on terror, an extremist like Geelani is not acceptable to the international community, and hence to Pakistan. They believe Geelani will soon realise this.  Peoples Conference leader Bilal Lone expressed the majority view when he told this correspondent, “Geelani would become politically isolated if he does not rejoin the united Hurriyat Conference.”

 

Full story: http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jun/17jk.htm

 

Violence won’t derail peace process

Canberra, The News, June 15

 

President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said he had a vision for self-governance for Kashmir but that independence for the region would be unacceptable to both Pakistan and India.  In an interview with Reuters during the first visit by a Pakistani head of state to Australia, President Musharraf stressed the need for the parties to show willingness to compromise on the Kashmir dispute. “We have to find a middle point,” Musharraf said, adding: “So we hope that when we start real, serious negotiations, people and groups will be more flexible to a future conclusion.”  Speaking a day after a deadly car bombing in Pulwama, Musharraf said nobody could stop the violence, which he vowed would not distract India and Pakistan from the peace process they have both described as irreversible. “I think we should not be overly bothered about (the car bombing) and we should not allow it to affect the peace process,” Musharraf said.  “I would go even to the extent of saying that even if we reach peace and agreement, even after that there will be some extremists, who may carry out such kind of extremist attacks. We should bear with that,” he added.

Separately, speaking at the National Press Club of Australia, Musharraf said: “There is nobody who can exercise control on everyone and everything that is happening in Kashmir. I certainly don’t hold a whistle which I can blow and every bullet stops being fired.”  Musharraf expressed optimism that a resolution to the Kashmir dispute acceptable to Pakistan, India and the people of Kashmir could be achievable through flexibility and sincerity. “I don’t have a strict timeframe in my mind but both countries should seize the peace opportunity and in view of harmony and understanding between the current leadership (Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and himself), the Kashmir dispute should be resolved within our tenures,” he told journalists, intellectuals and civil society members at the press club.  “I have told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the best timetable is that it must take place within our tenures,” Musharraf said, adding that there was no guarantee that the future leadership of the two countries would have the same level of harmony and understanding. “Both the sides need to seize the opportunity, show sincerity, courage and flexibility and reach a final settlement, that is acceptable to all the three stakeholders — Pakistan, India and the Kashmiri people. I proceed with optimism and am convinced that such a solution is achievable.”

In this context, the president said India and Pakistan have to move from dispute management to dispute resolution as long-standing issues can no longer be pushed under the carpet. “The Kashmir dispute cannot be wished away, it must be addressed,” he emphasized.  About the Indo-Pak peace process, the president said it had resulted in a new environment of improved relations and better confidence between the two countries. The two sides are moving forward through bilateral dialogue and have also started engaging the Kashmiris, he added.  President Musharraf informed the gathering that Pakistan and India were moving on two tracks – confidence-building measures and conflict resolution — and stressed the two must move in tandem.  The world community, he said, can make a critical contribution to the dispute resolution by encouraging all sides to remain on course to reach the destination and called upon Australia to do the same. “A just settlement of Kashmir will usher in a new era of durable peace and brighter future for the people of South Asia,” he said.

 

Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=213833&category=Frontend&Country=PAKISTAN&pro=0

 

*India-Bangladesh

 

Indian Prime Minister to reach out to Dhaka

New Delhi, Telegraph, June 15

 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take the initiative to restore India’s relations with Bangladesh on an even keel.  A source close to Singh said the first step would be to invite Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to India for bilateral talks before the SAARC summit due in November. The source said the idea was to create a “friendlier environment” for the SAARC summit than what exists now. The decision to reach out to Bangladesh stems from two perceptions.  One, there has been “significant improvement” in India’s relations with neighbors, including Pakistan, China, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Myanmar and even Nepal over the past year.  “But with Bangladesh, the PM felt there was inadequate engagement at the top,” the source said.  Two, the Prime Minister feels that “you can choose your friends but not your neighbors”.

 

Full story: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=213811&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN

 

*Nepal

 

Nepal rebels end civilian attacks

Kathmandu, BBC South Asia, 19 June

 

The Maoists in Nepal have called a halt to attacks on civilians and offered to join political parties opposing the rule of King Gyanendra.  Maoist chairman Prachanda said cadres had been ordered not to carry out “physical attacks on unarmed people”. The move comes two weeks after a Maoist landmine killed 38 civilians on a bus.  King Gyanendra assumed direct control of Nepal on 1 February, dismissing parliament and accusing politicians of failing to tackle the Maoists.

 

Mr Prachanda’s offer to join hands with an alliance of seven opposition parties came a day after the alliance again urged the rebels to give up violence. The parties have made it clear they cannot work with the Maoists until the rebels renounce violence.  Mr Prachanda did not say his cadres would lay down arms.  However in a media statement, he said: “Our party has issued special instructions to all cadres, the People’s Liberation Army and other units not to carry out physical attacks on any unarmed person until another decision.”  He said the seven parties’ demand for an interim government and elections to a constituent assembly was a positive development. However, he did not comment on one of the major alliance demands that the House of Representatives, dissolved three years ago, be reinstated.  About 12,000 people have died in the rebels' 10-year armed insurgency aimed at replacing the monarchy with a communist republic.

 

Mr Prachanda said his party was committed to human rights, competition among political parties and the rule of law. The Maoists said that the land mine attack on the bus in southern Chitwan district on 7 June was a mistake. Mr Prachanda later said those who carried out the attack had been suspended. There was widespread condemnation from ordinary Nepalis and international organizations.

 
Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4109106.stm

 

FEATURES

 

Of Oxford, economics, empire, and freedom

Manmohan Singh

 

(Excerpted from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address in acceptance of an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford, July 8, 2005.)

Distinguished alumnus Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accompanied by Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Lord Patten of Barnes, on his way to the Convocation House in Oxford on Friday after he was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Civil Law.

This is an emotional moment for me. Oxford brings back many fond memories I cherish. For this reason, as much as for the intrinsic value of the honor you bestow upon me, I am truly overwhelmed. There can be nothing more valuable than receiving an honorary degree from one's own alma mater. To be so honored by a university where one has burnt the proverbial midnight oil to earn a regular degree is a most fulfilling experience.

The world has changed beyond recognition since I was a student here.  Yet, some age-old problems endure. Developing countries have found a new voice, a new status, and have acquired a new sense of confidence over the last few decades. As an Indian, I see a new sense of hope and purpose. This new optimism gives us Indians a new sense of self-confidence and it shapes our world view today. It would be no exaggeration to suggest that the success of hundreds of young Indian students and professionals in Universities like Oxford, and elsewhere across the world, has contributed to this renewed self-confidence of a new India.

The economics we learnt at Oxford in the 1950s was also marked by optimism about the economic prospects for the post-War and post-colonial world. But in the 1960s and 1970s, much of the focus of development economics shifted to concerns about the limits to growth. There was considerable doubt about the benefits of international trade for developing countries. I must confess that when I returned home to India, I was struck by the deep distrust of the world displayed by many of my countrymen. We were overwhelmed by the legacy of our immediate past. Not just by the perceived negative consequences of British imperial rule, but also by the sense that we were left out in the cold by the Cold War.

There is no doubt that our grievances against the British Empire had a sound basis. As the painstaking statistical work of the Cambridge historian Angus Madison has shown, India's share of world income collapsed from 22.6 per cent in 1700, almost equal to Europe's share of 23.3 per cent at that time, to as low as 3.8 per cent in 1952.  Indeed, at the beginning of the 20th Century, "the brightest jewel in the British Crown" was the poorest country in the world in terms of per capita income. However, what is significant about the Indo-British relationship is the fact that despite the economic impact of colonial rule, the relationship between individual Indians and Britons, even at the time of our Independence, was relaxed and, I may even say, benign.

This was best exemplified by the exchange Mahatma Gandhi had here at Oxford in 1931 when he met members of the Raleigh Club and the Indian Majlis. The Mahatma was in England then for the Round Table Conference and during its recess, he spent two weekends at the home of A.D. Lindsay, the Master of Balliol. At this meeting, the Mahatma was asked “How far would you cut India off from the Empire?” His reply was precise: “From the Empire, entirely; from the British nation not at all, if I want India to gain and not to grieve.” He added: “The British Empire is an Empire only because of India. The Emperorship must go and I should love to be an equal partner with Britain, sharing her joys and sorrows. But it must be a partnership on equal terms.” This remarkable statement by the Mahatma has defined the basis of our relationship with Britain.


Jawaharlal Nehru echoed this sentiment when he urged the Indian Constituent Assembly in 1949 to vote in favor of India’s membership of the Commonwealth. Nehru set the tone for independent India's relations with its former master when he intervened in the Constituent Assembly’s debate on India joining the Commonwealth and said:

“I wanted the world to see that India did not lack faith in herself, and that India was prepared to co-operate even with those with whom she had been fighting in the past provided the basis of the cooperation today was honorable, that it was a free basis, a basis which would lead to the good not only of ourselves, but of the world also. That is to say, we would not deny that cooperation simply because in the past we had fought and thus carry on the trail of our past karma along with us. We have to wash out the past with all its evil.”

India and Britain set an example to the rest of the world in the way they sought to relate to each other, thanks to the wisdom and foresight of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. When I became the Finance Minister of India in 1991, our Government launched the Indo-British Partnership Initiative. Our relationship had by then evolved to a stage where we had come to regard each other as partners. Today, there is no doubt in my mind that Britain and India are indeed partners and have much in common in their approach to a wide range of global issues.

What impelled the Mahatma to take such a positive view of Britain and the British people even as he challenged the Empire and colonial rule?  It was, undoubtedly, his recognition of the elements of fair play that characterized so much of the ways of the British in India. Consider the fact that an important slogan of India's struggle for freedom was that “Self Government is more precious than Good Government.” That, of course, is the essence of democracy. But the slogan suggests that even at the height of our campaign for freedom from colonial rule, we did not entirely reject the British claim to good governance. We merely asserted our natural right to self-governance.

Today, with the balance and perspective offered by the passage of time and the benefit of hindsight, it is possible for an Indian Prime Minister to assert that India's experience with Britain had its beneficial consequences too. Our notions of the rule of law, of a constitutional government, of a free press, of a professional civil service, of modern universities and research laboratories have all been fashioned in the crucible where an age-old civilization met the dominant Empire of the day. These are all elements which we still value and cherish. Our judiciary, our legal system, our bureaucracy, and our police are all great institutions, derived from British-Indian administration and they have served the country well.

Of all the legacies of the Raj, none is more important than the English language and the modern school system. That is, if you leave out cricket! Of course, people here may not recognize the language we speak, but let me assure you that it is English. In indigenizing English, as so many people have done in so many nations across the world, we have made the language our own. Our choice of prepositions may not always be the Queen's English; we might occasionally split the infinitive; and we may drop an article here and add an extra one there. I am sure everyone will agree, however, that English has been enriched by Indian creativity as well and we have given you R.K. Narayan and Salman Rushdie. Today, English in India is seen as just another Indian language.

The idea of India as enshrined in our Constitution, with its emphasis on the principles of secularism, democracy, the rule of law, and, above all, the equality of all human beings irrespective of caste, community, language or ethnicity, has deep roots in India's ancient civilization.  However, it is undeniable that the founding fathers of our republic were also greatly influenced by the ideas associated with the age of enlightenment in Europe. Our Constitution remains a testimony to the enduring interplay between what is essentially Indian and what is very British in our intellectual heritage.

The idea of India as an inclusive and plural society draws on both these traditions. The success of our experiment of building a democracy within the framework of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-religious society will encourage all societies to walk the path we have trodden. In this journey, both Britain and India have learnt from each other and have much to teach the world. This is perhaps the most enduring aspect of the Indo-British encounter.

It used to be said that the sun never sets on the British Empire. I am afraid we were partly responsible for sending that adage out of fashion.  But if there is one phenomenon on which the sun cannot set, it is the world of the English-speaking people, in which the people of Indian origin are the single largest component.  No Indian has paid a more poetic and generous tribute to Britain for this inheritance than Rabindranath Tagore. In the opening lines of his Gitanjali, Gurudev says “The West has today opened its door, there are treasures for us to take, we will take and we will also give, from the open shores of India's immense humanity.”

To see the India-British relationship as one of give and take at the time he first did was an act of courage and statesmanship. It was, however, also an act of great foresight. As we look back and also look ahead, it is clear the Indo-British relationship is one of give and take. The challenge before us today is to see how we can take this mutually beneficial relationship forward in an increasingly inter-dependent world.

I wish to end by returning to my alma mater. Oxford, since the 19th century, has been a centre for Sanskrit learning and the study of Indian culture. The Boden professorship in Sanskrit and the Spalding professorship in Eastern Religions and Ethics stand testimony to the university’s commitment to India and Indian culture. I recall with pride
the fact that the Spalding professorship was held by two very distinguished Indians: Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who later became the President of India, and by Dr. Bimal Krishna Matilal. In the context of the study and preservation of Indian culture, I also wish to recall the contribution of another Oxonian, Lord Curzon, about whose project to preserve and restore Indian monuments, Jawaharlal Nehru said “After every other Viceroy has been forgotten, Curzon will be remembered because he restored all that was beautiful in India.”

Oxford has sent out many men to rule India. Some stayed behind to become India’s friends. Men like Edward Thompson, Verrier Elwin, and many others are remembered in India for their contribution to our life and society.  I always come back to the city of dreaming spires and of lost causes as a student. I am here this time in all humility as the representative of a great nation and a great people.

 

 

PEACE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

 

Transcend Peace University, the world’s first ever global peace university, announces registration for the October 2005 semester, which starts on October 3, 2005, and ends on January 16, 2006. The following 20 12-weeks courses will be offered. Deadline for registration is September 15, 2005. More infois available fromTRANSCEND Peace University Global Center in Cluj, Romania or their website  http://www.transcend.org/tpu, by email from tpu@transcend.org, by phone from +40-724-380511, and by Fax:+40-264-420298

 

  1. Peaceful Conflict Transformation, Johan Galtung
  2. Democratization and Development, Paul D. Scott
  3. Peace Learning in Conflict Transformation, Catherine Odora-Hoppers, Alicia Cabuezedo, Magnus Haavelsrud
  4. Peace Futures, Sohail Inayatullah
  5. Peace Journalism, Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick
  6. Nonviolence as Political Tool and Philosophy, Jorgen Johansen
  7. Deep Culture in Conflict, Johan Galtung, Wilfried Graf and Gudrun Kramer
  8. Peace Museums, Christophe Bouillet
  9. Dialogue, Peace and Development, Katrin Kaeufer and Claus Otto Scharmer
  10. The Global Compact- A platform for change and development, Fred Dubee
  11. Conflict Prevention, Intervention, Reconciliation and Reconstruction, S. P. Udayakumar
  12. Film and Peace, Paul D. Scott
  13. Transformacion Pacifica de Conflictos, Sara Rozenblum de Horowitz
  14. Peace Business and Economics, Howard Richards
  15. Literature and Peace, Marisa Antonaya
  16. Gender and Militarism, Gal Harmat
  17. Peace Zones, Christophe Barbey
  18. Introductory Psychology for Peace Workers, T. Ito and F. Tschudi
  19. Introductory Mathematics for Peace Workers, J Galtung and D Fischer
  20. Introductory Economics for Peace Workers, J. Galtung, D. Goalstone

 

 

PEACE EVENTS

 

India-Pakistan Peace Day 2005

 

ACHA, the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (www.asiapeace.org) as selected “Celebrating shared cultural heritage of India and Pakistan to promote peace between them” as theme for celebrations everywhere of India-Pakistan Peace Day 2005.

 

As the associated core project this year, ACHA will circulate a petition urging Governments of India and Pakistan to modify their current visa regimes to facilitate travel by their citizens across their common border.

 

In keeping with the above theme, ACHA proposes that collaborative (as opposed to competitive) activities such as the following be included in this year’s celebration of India-Pakistan Peace Day:

 

  1. Kabbadi, field hockey, football and cricket games and training camps
  2. Kite-making and kite flying
  3. Fashion shows
  4. Kathak and Bhangra Dances
  5. Poetry recitals and Qwwalis

 

Other activities such as the following may also be considered:

 

  1. Peace vigils, rallies, marches and human chains
  2. Interfaith prayers for peace
  3. Essay, drawing and painting competitions
  4. India-Pakistan geography bees

               

ACHA would appreciate receiving announcement and reports of similar celebrations anywhere for posting on www.indiapakistanpeace.org the website which has been dedicated in support of the project. Please send them to Dr. Pritam Rohila at pritamr@open.org

 

ACHA suggests that, this year also, celebrations of India-Pakistan Peace Day are held any day between August 1 and October 31, but preferably on September 21, declared by the United Nations to be “a global ceasefire day; a day of non-violence, a day of Peace” (www.peaceoneday.org). ACHA appreciates any support readers can provide. Comments and suggestions are also welcome.

 

 

Kashmir Conference Rejects Line of Control as Option

 

Washington DC – July 15, 2005.   Today was the second and final day of the 5th International Kashmiri Peace Conference with a general debate and discussion attended by diplomats, politicians, experts, and scholars from all around the globe.  The two-day conference hosted by Congressman Pitts and Senator Johnson, was sponsored by the Kashmiri American Council and the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers.  The participants came from India, Pakistan, Kashmir, England, Norway, and the United States. 

 

Today the conference ended in unanimous consensus that the cease-fire line is totally unacceptable and that in order for peace to ultimately be achieved, Kashmiris must be involved in the negotiation process with India and Pakistan.  Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the Kashmiri American Council, expressed his pleasure and appreciation at the level of cantor by all the participants who took part in today’s discussion.  Dr. Fai said, “It became clear that discussions regarding the Kashmir Conflict are moving in a positive direction.”  He said that it was heartening to end the conference in unanimous consensus that the cease-fire line is totally unacceptable and that in order for peace to ultimately be achieved, Kashmiris must be involved in the negotiation process with India and Pakistan

 

However, the optimism was not just shared by the Kashmiri representatives.  Dr. Subramanium Swamy, President of the All India Junta Party also expressed his pleasure at the cordiality of Kashmiri and Pakistani attendees at the conference.  “The attitude and willingness to share ideas and express views in an open environment was a definite positive sign.”  Dr. Robert Wirsing followed up by stating that the “conference attitude among the experts, politicians, and diplomats is a further sign that the discussion is continuing on a positive track.” 

 

Some of the delegates saw the conference as a stepping-stone but that goals still need to be achieved.  Mr. Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, Minister of Kashmir Affairs said that, “we have to continue to be forward looking.”  He went on to say that he “expressed his hope that the wishes of the Kashmiri will be accepting in any settlement of Kashmir.”  Ambassador Riaz Khokhar confirmed this feeling stating that, “for the final settlement of Kashmir the roadmap must come from the people of Kashmir themselves.” 

 

The main theme however was that all sides need to show flexibility.  Dr. Ejazul Haq, Federal Minister of Religious Affairs said the “flexibility shown by Pakistan has not been reciprocated until now and solutions in Kashmir require flexibility on all sides.”  However, Prof. Nazir A. Shawl of the London based Kashmir Center said that sacrifices given by the Kashmir people were not a win-win situation for them.  This was followed by Barrister Majeed Tramboo of the Brussels based Kashmir Center when he clarified that it must be understood that Kashmir resistance is in “no way terrorism”.   However, he did go on to say that in light of the past couple days, Kashmiris on the right track and hopefully sooner than later a long lasting peace will finally come to this beautiful land marred by tragedy for such a long period of time. 

 

Kashmiri American Council

733 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 1100

Washington, DC 20005

 

Indian and Pakistani children talk about Peace and friendship

Posted by Sanat Mohanty sanat.mohanty@gmail.com, June 17

 

Early afternoon on 17th June, 2005, about 10 children from Hyderabad, Pakistan and as many from Lucknow, India talked with each other about the need for peace between the two nations, inviting the other to come spend time with them as well as singing songs.

Despite technical difficulties with unstable internet and video-networking through a web-cam as well disturbance over the phone line that was finally used to teleconference the children in, the enthusiasm and sheer joy of speaking to each other was perceptible.  Some children participating in the workshop Lucknow had tickets for a film later in the day but decided to forego that to find out about their counterparts in Hyderabad.

Before the call in that eventually occurred at about 5:00 PM India time and 4:30 Pakistan time, these groups of children had separately participated in workshops. These workshops included discussions, singing songs, watching parts of a film on 50 years of hostilities between India and Pakistan, etc.  During the call, the children were very forthcoming, telling each other across over thousand kilometers of space that we needed peace, we needed to work for it. Starting a bit bashfully – talking about the weather, and each other's health – the children opened up as the session proceeded. They talked about themselves – what they liked to read, sports that they enjoyed.

“What picture do you see when you think about India”, one of the children from Lucknow asked.  “We see a place with friends”, came the answer across the phone line.  “Can we be friends?” another voice from Lucknow queries. “Of course”, comes a confident reply.  “We have been trying to talk to you for so long”, one of the children from Lucknow said – perhaps articulating her frustration at the technical difficulties. She might as well have been talking about the feelings of various Indians and Pakistanis who have been looking forward to better relationships and greater interaction that has been constrained by the insularity of domestic and international politics.

Sajjad, from Hyderabad, who had come to India with a group of young children traveling through and playing cricket with (not against) kids from various parts of India, described his trips to his counterparts from Lucknow, talking about his experiences in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkatta. “But you did not come to Lucknow?” someone asked. Shweta wanted to know more about Hyderabad, besides describing Lucknow and what she liked about the city. Pooja in Lucknow wanted to know more about the lives of the children in Hyderabad, wanting to perhaps find out the similarities they shared and if anything was different.  Areeba Javed read out a poem on peace, among other poems and songs sung by a number of the children in Hyderabad. The children in Lucknow also sang a song from “Veer Zaara”. Then everyone joined in and sang a song from the Bollywood film “Kal ho na ho”.

The effort was organized by various members of the recently concluded Delhi to Multan Peace march, some of whom were able to participate in the march and others who could not join the march but played important roles in supporting the march and making it a success. Another call with the same group of participants is planned within the next month.  The organizers view this as follow up action from the march, using available technology to increase people to people interaction. Based on feedback and learning from these calls, the organizers plan to start similar interactions between other groups.