February  2003 
Year 9    No.84
Editorial


Peace Uprising


Asia today resembles a war zone, where rule of law is the last thing on the mind of the partisans in power and civil war–like conditions prevail. Our cover story this month tries to draw out some key players from the political arena in India to tell our readers what they understand by secularism (and democracy). Much of even that segment of the political class that still swears by the word has so abused the word in their political practice that in the perception of many Indians today it has become a synonym for opportunism, appeasement and hypocrisy. For us, however, there is no doubt that the only road to ‘moksha’ for multi–religious, multi-cultural, multi–ethnic societies like ours lies in the rediscovery and reaffirmation of secular principle and secular politics. The contributions to our cover story this month cannot possibly be, are not meant to be, a conclusive, one time exercise. We would like our readers to see these as the launch of a much-needed debate on the subject that we will keep returning to in the coming issues.

Because we in India and in South Asia are engrossed in our own petty battles, essentially meaningless but potentially frightening, we missed being participants in what without doubt was the greatest global uprising for peace. Let alone being active participants, we were barely even witness to the unprecedented, in scale, phenomenon of people standing up to their own governments and demanding that they "use some imagination" to find "non-violent alternatives to war and terrorism".

Never before in history have over 10 million take to the streets in over 600 cities and towns stretching across continents, as they did on February 15, to assert that Superpower arrogance and military clout cannot be enough justification to launch a campaign of death and devastation against Iraq that cannot but bring untold suffering to millions of people in that hapless country. As amazing as the numbers involved was the fact that no central committee, no political presidium could claim credit for having planned and pulled of this amazing spectacle. And peace activists — may their tribe increase – are too few and too far in between to have even dreamed up such turnout. Besides, this spontaneous outpouring inexplicably seemed to be in support of a man who is no popular hero: only Saddam Hussain. And yet, as one columnist in the Observer, London put it, "The unheard have spoken out".

And what did they say? This is what Andrew Miller, 33, from New Zealand, who was one among the nearly one million people who marched in London had to say: "All the different groups that are marching today show the world that the West is not the enemy, that British people do not hate Islam and Arabs and the coming together of people is the greatest way forward." (The participation of Arab or other Muslim majority countries in the February 15 mobilisation was marginal at best).

Following the unpardonable 9/11 terrorist targeting of innocents in the US, a group that calls itself ":September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows’ came into existence. Last month, a four-member delegation representing this organization made a six-day trip of Iraq, "making people–to–people contacts at schools, hospitals and universities in Baghdad and Basra." Kat Tinley, whose uncle, Mike Tinley, perished at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was part of the delegation. And this is what she had to say of her experience on return: "During our trip, I met a lot of people who want their country healthy again, and their children happy. Like much of the world, the people of Iraq have known violence entirely too long, and they long for peace."

Yes, coming together of people is the greatest way forward. Bush and Blair are unlikely to be so easily convinced, but what about you Samuel Huntington and your "clash of civilizations" thesis?

— Editors


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