Frontline
December 1998
Special Report

Crossing the Lakhman Rekha

A retired Indian navy chief leads a small army of peace soldiers from India and is warmly received by Pakistanis across the border

The long–awaited dream of visiting Pakistan became a reality at last. Having only experienced being on opposite sides during hostilities, this was a great moment for me for a variety of reasons. I was choked with all sorts of emotions and feelings as we set foot across the Wagah border on our way to Peshawar. The excitement generated by the prospect of meeting our sambandhis and other old friends from the Forum only accentuated these feelings.

The twice postponed Peshawar convention of the Pakistan–India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy, finally materialised, on November 20, ’98, when in response to the invitation of our hosts — the Pakistan chapter of the Forum — we crossed into Pakistan at Wagah. The Forum was inundated by a large number of requests to be part of this convention — a clear indication of the growing interest in meeting and interacting with our neighbours. However, as with all such events, certain requirements in terms of representation and norms governing such selection forced us to restrict the numbers to those who had been members of the forum for at least one year. Mr Rajni Kothari, the president of the India chapter could not come and therefore as vice–president of the Forum, I led the delegation.

The main body of the group comprising 114 of us "effected rendezvous" at Amritsar, and thanks to the excellent arrangements made by our Punjab chapter, we managed a well–organised and smooth transfer to the border.

We had to wait for well over an hour after reaching there, as the immigration authorities had no prior information of such a large group arriving there that morning. They are used to handling 10–20 and that too spread over the day. Here was an invasion, which almost made them throw up their hands! Finally I had to intervene and the magic of being an ex–service chief certainly seemed to help!

There was an amusing side to this too: one of the inspectors at immigration confessed that he was thrilled to meet me in flesh and blood! It turned out that one of the questions in his entrance exam to join the police force was one about who was then Chief of the Naval Staff. He claimed, with a twinkle in his eye, that he had answered correctly, and went out of his way to hasten matters. We were already running well astern of schedule, and still ploughing through the huge pile of passports at noon, whereas by then, we should have been across and on our way to Lahore en route to Peshawar. We finally crossed the border at 2 p.m.

Across at last, we were very happy to be welcomed by a smiling Mr I. A. Rehman, president of the Pakistan chapter of the Forum, Mr Mubashir Hasan, former foreign minister and member of the Pakistan National Committee, and our own advance party comprising of Tapan Bose, secretary, India chapter and Rita Manchanda, member national committee. We were informed that our hosts too, had had their share of anxieties, since their Frontier Guards (counterpart of our BSF) had not received instructions about our crossing — from their ‘higher ups’ until the very last minute. The similarity of `bureaucratic bumbledom’ was all too familiar, and it made the delays at our end almost forgivable! Our hosts had thoughtfully organised lunch at the border, after which we set off at 3.30 p.m. on the long drive to Peshawar in four air–conditioned luxury buses.

The inaugural session of the convention was held at 9.30 am the next day at an impressive auditorium, not very far from where we stayed. The Pakistani authorities had been generous to waive the usual requirement of reporting to the police by Indian citizens. Instead we were escorted by a police jeep that also acted as a pilot whenever our convoy of buses had to move.

The convention was formally inaugurated by a welcome address by Kwajah Hasan the President of the Peshawar chapter and also by Mr Latif Afridi, member of the local provincial assembly from the Khyber Pass region. This was followed by opening remarks by the co–chairs, Mr. I. A. Rehman and by myself. This mainly consisted of focussing the attention of the delegates on the major issues which had been listed in the agenda and also expressing our disappointment and concern over the recent nuclear tests conducted by both our countries.

Besides the plenary on the ‘The Threat from Nuclear Weapons’ on 

the forenoon of the first day, we also had group discussions on the following issues during the afternoon: Kashmir, Demilitarisation and Peace, Governance, Intolerance, Trade, Professionals (Media, Trade Unions, Lawyers, Expatriates), Cultural Cupertino.

The forenoon of the second day was spent listening to the reports from the various groups as also the draft resolutions. The afternoon was devoted to discussions and the adoption of the various resolutions including the Peshawar Declaration. The session concluded with a press conference.

The Peshawar Declaration condemned the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan, and urged our countries to make a dignified exit from both the nuclear and missile race. We also urged them to put an end to armed activities in Jammu and Kashmir and sign a mutual peace treaty.

The declaration went on to say: "We demand that the government of India pull back its troops from civilian areas and that the Pakistan government make efforts to stop the armed activities of militants in order to put an end to military and armed actions, both of which have led to violence and the violation of human rights in Kashmir". The declaration also asked the two governments to immediately pull back its troops from Siachen and to come to a workable agreement there.

Besides the business part of the meetings our hosts organised a delightful cultural programme on the evening of the first day which included a Bharata Natyam performance by a Pakistani artiste and her troupe. The Tillana in particular was choreographed and rendered beautifully. The folk music and dances from the frontier region were also excellent.

The former chief minister of Peshawar hosted a wonderful lunch and amongst our hosts was Mr Wali Khan (Jr), the grandson of the great ‘Frontier Gandhi’ — Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. Mr Wali Khan is currently a member of the local legislative Assembly. Like his grandfather he is a strapping 6 feet 4 inches tall, a handsome and affable personality exuding friendship for India. It would interest readers to know that most people wear khaddar apparel as it is still woven in and around Peshawar!

The Peshawar chamber of commerce and industry hosted a dinner in our honour. During the speeches delivered on the occasion they made an impassioned plea to open up trade with India across the land border. They were not particularly concerned with the other so–called ‘bigger issues’. They felt that trading can be commenced whilst still discussing those issues. This more or less reflects the mood of the business community, and the others in general.

However, we all know what happened in Delhi during the recent secretary level meetings between our two teams. Both sides traded the usual charges and agreed to disagree! We really need to clear this mindset if we hope to get anywhere.

Even Ms Benazir Bhutto who was so determined and headed the hate India campaign in the early nineties, is singing a different tune now. Let us hope others in power in both our countries will also view things differently. The recently concluded elections in the three northern states of India clearly indicate the BJP bomb has not impressed anyone, not even those in the capital city of Delhi. Evidently, the grandiose vision of India as a nuclear super power is not what the people want. There are far more pressing needs of the people that are basic and essential.

At the press conference which rang down the curtain on the convention, many questions were asked — including the extent to which we believe that our movement impacted the decision makers, and also what we were doing to give our efforts more publicity. We had to admit that while it would be difficult to make any qualitative assessment, the mere fact that groups like ourselves were interacting and were permitted to do so by our respective governments/systems, is in itself indicative that some thing is registering some where in the Establishment. The realisation that only political solutions were sustainable and that military power can never provide long–term solutions is slowly and reluctantly being accepted. Despite the initial euphoria around the nuclear tests and newly found capabilities, clearly there is little support for the idea of a nuclear solution to resolve our issues.

The Peshawar convention could not have been better timed. Coming as it did in the wake of the nuclear tests and the on – going official level talks between India and Pakistan, it added a new dimension to the role of civil society of the sub–continent in helping conflict resolution and focusing on peace initiatives.

The interaction which the Forum facilitated between the delegates of both countries, comprising various disciplines and professions, including former armed forces personnel was quite unique. The joint declaration sums up the mood of the delegates who could perhaps claim to represent the general feeling prevalent amongst our respective peoples, namely one of friendship, goodwill and a longing for peace in the sub continent.

We need to spread this message of the existence of abundant goodwill amongst the common people in Pakistan for India and its people. They are, as we are, sick and tired of paying this very heavy price for their so–called security. For far too long the leadership in our two countries have misled the people by brainwashing us to view each other as sworn enemies. This has only benefited the armament lobbies and emptied our coffers. We at the Forum have resolved to do everything possible to dispel such misconceptions about each other and to expand the membership at all levels of both our societies. In addition, we have also agreed to give the work being done by both chapters of the Forum wider publicity. We intend to reach out to more people through the vernacular press and also by initiating a web page in the Forum’s name on the Internet.

Hopefully we shall also be able to influence the political leadership in our countries to choose the path of peace and reconciliation rather than that of confrontation and mutual destruction. Even now it is not too late to seek the path of peace and friendship in the sub continent, failing which it might become a case of ‘Too little, Too late’.

L. Ramdas


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