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aman ki asha Destination Peace

INTERNATIONAL

N
Wednesday, January 1, 2014

AN INITIATIVE OF THE JANG GROUP AND THE TIMES OF INDIA

Hum Dekhein gey,

Lazim hai hum bhi
dekhein gey, jiss Aman
kee hum ko Asha hai,
Hum Dekhein gey
Nidhi
Shendurnikar Tere: I
never imagined
that I would be a
part of such wonderful
groups
working for peaceful and cooperative relations, or
that I would be friends with so many
warm and caring people across the border, that I would interact with them, debate and discuss issues with them, that I
would incorporate their views in my research, that I would myself write so much
on Indo-Pak issues. However, one wish
that I want the New Year to grant me is
that I am able to meet my Pakistani
friends, face to face, and invite them to
India.
Samir Gupta: It
has been a fantastic journey for
me. Layers upon
layers of nationalistic bias laid
bare as I discovered the extent
to which we in
India have de-humanised people
across the border. I am also moved by
the strong demand for peace on both
sides, especially Pakistan. Makes me
very hopeful. Thank you to the team at
Aman ki Asha
Anita
Dixit:
Many times there
have been arguments and heated
debates about political issues, but
members treat
each other with
politeness, and I
have NEVER seen personal enmity or hatred. People blame their differently-interpreted histories, never the present. I have
always seen, in this group that people
recognise each other as people, and want
to be friends. Not only that, but friendships from the heart have been formed.
That's huge!
Tanvir Kazmi: As
a new member of
the group, I am
touched by the
genuine desire for
peace shown by
both sides and
their respectful attitude
Zaakbar Ali: For
me, 2013 started
with becoming acquainted
with
Aman ki Asha
through an opportunity to help organize the Global
Peace Vigil. Couldnt be a greater way to start a year than
calling for peace!

Bhatta Som: I
have the privilege to
have developed real
and
enduring
friendships with
people across the
border people
who are just like
me. I have learned a
great deal about the land across the border
- the people, the land, the culture, the politics, the cuisine, the problems, the hopes
and the sorrows. I hope that I may have
helped demolish stereotyped images that
Pakistanis might hold about Indians and
vice versa. I have significantly improved
my proficiency in Urdu, which was getting
rusty. I have started learning Farsi and I just
love it. I have considerably enhanced my
own Gross Happiness Index by being a
part of this group and initiative. Plus I have
learned just how false and skewed officially
fed propaganda can be. I believe that real
peace and prosperity between the two nations is not impractical utopia because the
borderless world of the Internet and social
media dissolve many erstwhile barriers,
change perceptions and encourage positive
change in the status quo.
Kami Kidwai: For
me the year has
been one of optimism for Pakistan
India peace. Despite the few incidents where there
were fears on the
dialogue derailing,
by and large we have seen genuine desire
of peace from both sides - reflected by not
only the discussions on this forum but how
these discussions translated to real actions
e.g. the Global Vigil, visits across the border, the Coke Machine and Google ads. As
for the new year, I am full of optimism,
with respect to Faiz for slightly modifying
his lines, 'Hum Dekhein gey, Lazim hai
hum bhi dekhein gey, jiss Aman kee
hum ko Asha hai, Hum Dekhein gey'
Ruchhita Kazaria: Aman ki Asha is a
wonderful platform that has been instrumental in spreading the message of peace
between the two nations. I consider myself
privileged to be a member of this forum.
The journey so far has enriched me in
more ways than one.
Anil Kumar: I
am really honoured to be a part
of this platform
AKA
through
which we can
speed up our
peace process
between two
lovely countries. Hope 2014 will bring
more peace & brotherhood between
two countries.

2013

LOOKING

KCAB
2014

LOOKING
FORWARD
Aman ki Asha supporters talk about
what has made the past year
meaningful for them with regards to
India-Pakistan relations, and what
gives them hope for the future
Safia Bokhari:
This has been a
great year for me
as I joined AKA
and found beautiful and loving people from India as
friends. I discovered the numerous similarities between the two countries. I've always been eager to know
more about India. AKA has contributed a
lot in this regard. I hope the New Year
brings us even closer and we can help
further reduce the tension and misunderstanding among the people and countries
on the whole. All issues must be resolved
amicably with mutual consent for the
sake of peace and prosperity of the people of both coun-

tries Hoping for the best in 2014.

Fatima Harris:
The happiness and
friendships that I
carried from my
past (in India), irrespective of religion or social status
in
my
memories became
stronger as I formed bonds with people.
Neerja Arora
Khattri: I am really happy to have
the opportunity to
know
people
across the border.
We once lived in
the same house.
Now I want to really meet the people and visit Pakistan. Its good to know that people on both sides want to live in
peace and friendship. Whatever our
past, Inshallah, I pray that all our
efforts will lead to a better future,
better relationships.

Ganesh Natarajan: Maybe we

should do a breakthrough initiative
involving students
in 2014.

Masood Akhtar
Janjua: It has always been my
hope to see people
of both India and
Pakistan on the
same platform.
After all we hail
from common ancestry and share the same blood. Once
thing more, please try to create a forum
where we can participate live in all events
taking place in connection with AKA.
Susenjit Guha:
As an Indian, I
feel all the more
richer as we can
forge friendships
with our distant
cousins,
descended from our
common grandparents and great grandparents. They
used to live under one roof, but that
does not mean we have to fight since
they decided to divide the ancestral
plot and build separate houses. Many
Indians and Pakistanis had to leave
their ancestral homes at a very short
notice and have died without making a
single return visit.
AKA has come as a real hope for
those in their 70's and 80's, who want to
visit their roots, meet childhood friends
and perhaps step into homes they left behind 66 years ago. AKA has come as a
real hope for people like us who want a
EU like system to prevail and not allow
any superpower ever to take advantage
of our immaturity and foolishness. If we
cannot talk and settle issues concerning
us, outsiders are bound to exploit the situation at our expense.
Parshu Naraya nan: It is hard to
underestimate the
value of the genuine trans-border
people-to-people
connect that AKA
has enabled for so
many of us personally, including me - boond boond se
banta hai saagar.
Prabir
Chakraborty: Aman ki
Asha has taught
me
friendship.
After joining the
AKA group I learnt
that ordinary Pakistanis are not my
enemy. And if we
choose, we can live as good friends, good
neighbours. Aman ki Asha means a future
a bright future.

Sharmin Eliyas:
Looking back at
this year, I would
consider it as one
of THE MOST remarkable one inching towards peace.
There had been
hardly any negativity this year. Instead, there has been more recognition,
constructive interactions, visits and
promising synergies for a peaceful, collaborative future. I would reckon this year as
a landmark one, as it has given a very
clear message to the 'conflict' mongers
that we are determined to not join you.
Haider Ali: I
joined AKA very
late. I had already
visited India twice,
received a lot of
love there. There
was no one I could
share this with.
After joining AKA,
when I visited India for the third time, I got
a lot more support and this helped me to
bring the people of India and Pakistan
closer together through my work. I dont
feel alone now.
Atul Mukand: It is
imperative for the
purveyors of peace
to use utilize the
power of social
media and Internet
so that we can
have more such
initiatives between
the two nations, beyond journalists, students, academics and film makers who are
a niche segment. We need more grassroots
communications to break the barriers.
Konchadi Vasanth Pai: I was
taking an interest
in the various
events organised
by the Aman ki
Asha
Initiative
through
news
items in the Times
of India as this is a subject dear to my
heart. Since I learnt that there was a Facebook group recently and joined it, Ive
found it rewarding to cultivate friendships
with AKA group members across the border and learning about the cultural and educational events taking place. Although
our joint celebration of Independence Day
in 2013 was disrupted by tensions on the
LOC, the tempo of the AKA group did not
falter.
The atmosphere remained one of
friendship and fervent wishes for improvement in relations between the two countries. We adopted rakhi brothers and sisters, celebrated Eid and Diwali sharing the
joy and exchanging greetings. Overall. I
would say AKA stook like a rock amidst
the turbulence and unceasingly worked for
better relations between India and Pakistan. I have great hopes that the coming
year will be even more productive and we
will achieve much more than in 2013.
More power to our elbow!

Over a thousand students of DAV Sr. Sec. School (Lahore), Chandigarh (named after the school in Lahore that was re-established in Chandigarh after partition) made Indo-Pak Friendship Cards for Pakistani students

Cross-border calendar launch

B R I E F S

An actor and a gentleman

ans on both sides of the border mourned the untimely demise of the beloved Indian actor Farooq
Shaikh, who died following a massive heart attack in Dubai on December 27, 2014. Born on March
25, 1948, Farooq Saab, as he was widely known, was a
charismatic artist who had established his expertise in
theatre as well as films. He was also a quiet philanthropist who helped others without seeking publicity.
His roles in the realistic films of the 1970s and 80s
stand out, starting with his first film, Garam Hawa
(1973), which has since become a must-watch for anyone interested in Partition politics. He paired memorably with Deepti Naval in some eight films starting
with the outstanding Chashme Buddoor (1981).
Over the past two decades, he performed several
times in the two-person theatre play Tumhari Amrita
together with his old friend Shabana Azmi.
While not very active in the movie world over the
past few years, he appeared frequently on TV discussions about Indias political issues, ranging from relations with Pakistan to Kashmir. His humane views reinforced the need for peace and dialogue.

aghaz-e-Dosti, a joint initiative of the India-based Mission Bhartiyam

and Pakistan-based The Catalyst, launched its annual Calendar for
Peace and Love", a collection of paintings of students from both countries, in New Delhi and Islamabad last week.
Aliya Harir, Convenor of Aaghaz-e-Dosti Pakistan, said
that the six paintings in the calendar were 'Paintings of
Hope' by students. They narrate the desire as well as
need to bridge the gap for a happy and prosperous future". The launch in Delhi at the India International Centre featured addresses by eminent Hindi poet Pankaj
Singh, Delhi-based Pakistani filmmaker and journalist
Sonya Fatah, journalist Jawed Naqvi, Chairperson of Sir
Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, Prof. Dr. D.S. Rana, and
senior activist Satya Pal.
Kulsum Khan, a Pakistani student studying at the
South Asian University, Delhi, also shared her positive experience of living in India. The Islamabad launch featured comments by senior journalist and author of the
book "Delhi by Heart: Impressions of a Pakistani Traveller Raza Rumi, and nuclear physicist, analyst, and author Pervez Hoodboy.

At open sessions in both events, many from among the audience, shared
their hopes and desire for Indo-Pak peace and friendship. The Aaghaz-eDosti initiative is not aimed at pacifying or convincing anyone; it aims to
spread the fact that the desire for hope and friendship is not one-sided, but
is a mutual desire and need, says Ravi Nitesh, founder member of Mission
Bhartiyam.

THE FIRST STEP

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

A peace initiative whose time has come...

Feedback, contributions, photos, letters:

Email: amankiasha@janggroup.com.pk
Fax: +92-21-3241-8343
Post: aman ki asha c/o The News,
I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi

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.