By J N Raina




Can war and peace be juxtaposed? It is impertinent to ask such a question and very difficult to assess. The two sub-continental siblings, India and Pakistan, sharing a common heritage, have virtually never tasted the dawn of peace since partition. They went to war almost immediately after attaining freedom, from the British imperialism. The lingering conflict between the two warring nations has assumed complex character, resulting in a tempestuous situation.

They share a woeful tale, as if ‘told by an idiot’. Even the ‘idiots’---given their disingenuousness--- will shudder to intervene and deliver them peace. The bloody feud goes on fraudulently, without any compromise.

In the on-again, off-again, sort of war games, one of the two siblings is cruising ahead. The other is still ‘crying’ aimlessly on the ‘bed of thorns’ it created for itself. The scene is chaotic and pitiable.

Cry baby, cry; but do not clutch the hand of the ‘poacher’. Rather be bold enough to grasp the soft hand of your Big Brother for durable peace. For it is he who can care for your comforts and give you solace and a healing touch; and all the ‘toys’ you desire.

Better take comfort from Aman-ki-Asha, an India-Pakistan peace project; a people-to-people peace initiative, brainchild of the Times of India and Pakistan’s Jang group of newspapers.
If “ India is not a threat to Pakistan”, according to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, then what hinders Pakistan from not stopping proxy war and its sponsored terrorism, directed against India? Such a bold statement (that India is no threat) is coming from the horse’s mouth, not from a petty politician. But those who want peace are outwitted and eclipsed. It is a paradox that leaders like Zardari are considered prat and sought to be removed from the scene, like Benazir Bhutto, to keep the blaze of enmity with India visible.

A majority of people in Pakistan desire for peace with India They have come to believe that Pakistan will not only never progress, but also be further dismembered because of the continuing turmoil. Asma Jahangir, Chairperson Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has cautioned that Pakistan is going through a very difficult ‘fragile transition’. She would not even consider Pakistan a democracy. But sadly enough, it is the Pakistan establishment which keeps on misleading people about India. The Army wants its ‘subjects’ to believe that India is involved in militancy in Baluchistan. It is just to divert the people’s attention from the real problems.

As voices of sanity reached its crescendo, the Pakistan Army was busy in pushing through infiltrators into India. The more there is Aman-ki-Asha, the more Pakistan will try to nuke India. It has become public now that Pakistan has been constructing tunnels on its side of the border to store nuclear weapons. It is mind-boggling. Pakistan is trying to brow-beat India with its nuclear power. Its missiles are battle-ready. This denotes the magnitude of the hatred against India. The aim is to destabilize India and continue inflicting a thousand cuts on the chest of the Big Brother.

For China, Pakistan is pliable. That country is now eyeing for establishing military bases in Pakistan. It will further deteriorate peace in the sub-continent. Even it is galling to the jihadis. Al qaida has established itself in Pakistan. Who can provide them facilities? It is easy to imagine. The situation becomes alarming. Al qaida functions as a syndicate of terror, which include Lashkar-e-Toiba (L-e-T) , Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban.
“Under the umbrella, they intend to destabilize not only Pakistan, but the entire region, by provoking confrontation between India and Pakistan through terror attacks”, warns U S Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

Pakistani rangers have been violating cease-fire on LoC at their will. When India was celebrating the Republic Day, Pakistani forces resorted to saber-rattling by firing rocket launchers across the border. But intriguingly enough, Pakistan as its wont, continues to remain in the denial mood. It has openly and unabashedly announced that Pakistan will not be responsible for any fresh 26\11 type of Mumbai attack in India, on the plea that Pakistan is also the victim of terrorism. It is preposterous.

Notwithstanding this all---the perennial hatred, hatching of conspiracies against India, continuing proxy war, massive proliferation of terror mills in Pakistan --- the bold initiative taken by the Times of India and the Jang group for establishing peace in the sub-continent should be welcomed. In fact, Kashmir should have been their first rendezvous and the peaceniks should have begun their sojourn from Kashmir, to blend broken hearts and unite over five lakh Kashmiri Hindus with their Muslim brethren. It assumes as importance as the India-Pakistan peace initiative. If they succeed in conjoining the two disjointed communities, and uniting scattered families, half of the peace mission could be deemed to be fruitful.

The Kashmiri Hindus living like refugees in their own country, for the past 21 years, have a constitutional right to get resettled in their land of birth. Those involved in the peace process can enlarge their sphere of activity, in association with other dailies in the valley, or like-minded organizations and help in creating a congenial atmosphere, to defeat the negative forces.

A vicious propaganda is being carried out by the separatists, the enemies of the sub-continental peace. They have destroyed Kashmir as well as Pakistan, in the name of Islam. They are working against any rapprochement between the two countries. Full-throated peace efforts are needed. Such positive efforts for promotion of peace will definitely augur well for nearly 1.5 billion people of the region.
People in Pakistan are thirsting for peace. Despite fear of terrorists, which is mutual to both, massive peace rallies were taken out in 35 cities in Pakistan on January 1, under the banner of ‘Aman Ittihad’ .But that is not enough, unless millions of people exhibit their genuine desire for peace. People have come to realize that war is no solution for Pakistan. That country is at war with itself. People overwhelmingly believe that promotion of jihadi organizations has proved counter-productive. A feeling is discernible in Pakistan that terrorist attacks in India, orchestrated by ISI, has not weakened India in any manner. Rather its economy has gathered momentum. On the contrary it is Pakistan which has suffered. About 75 per cent of people are in its poor list. Barring huge arms arsenal, Pakistan is sliding down. Pakistan is suffering in silence and bleeding profusely, because of endless terrorist war unleashed by LeT.

We need another Mahatma Gandhi and a Frontier Gandhi to ensure real freedom. A multi-dimensional society has greater chance of survival than a self-centered society.
Once terrorism, the bane of Pakistan is terminated, once Jihadis say ‘peccavi’ (we have sinned) and they are brainwashed and modified, sustained dialogue between the two countries can follow to settle unsettled issues. Kashmir is not the main issue .We shall have to go beyond.The trustees of peace have to destroy the roots of fundamentalism. If jihadism is un-Islamic, ban it. As per Islamic juris-prudence, suicide attacks are impermissible. “ Those who use the Quran or saying of the Prophet Mohammad to justify terrorism, are perpetuating a lie”, it says. END


(J N Raina is a renowned journalist of Jammu & Kashmir, Retired as UNI News editor Mumbai)
Feed back at jagarnath_raina@yahoo.co.in

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