The Hindu : New Delhi News : Bridging borders to promote peace

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 22, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Bridging borders to promote peace

By Anjali Dhal Samanta

Messenger of peace Pervez Hoodbhoy.

NEW DELHI, NOV. 21. He's a nuclear physicist who speaks the language of peace. True, the first nuclear bomb may have been invented by nuclear physicists, but Pervez Hoodbhoy from Pakistan does not believe in "misusing'' this knowledge towards the "negation of humanity''. Instead, Dr. Hoodbhoy has crossed borders and `lines' with a hope to bring in "Aman Ki Phiza'' between the two neighbours.

"When you grow up in Pakistan, the most important issue is Kashmir,'' admitted Dr. Hoodbhoy after the screening of his documentary "Crossing the Lines: Kashmir, Pakistan, India'' here in the Capital this past week. "But I don't think the solution is in talking about carving up Kashmir. What we need is to live together. And so for the moment, it is necessary to take away the edge of the conflict.

We should cool the problem and bring in an atmosphere of peace. Don't try to solve the problem right now. Instead, allow people-to-people contact and encourage trade,'' he added.

While the recent peace initiatives by the political leadership is a "sensible'' step, it is all for the wrong reasons. "We have wasted so much time in pointless wars. It is sensible that both the countries are moving towards this, but it is all because of external pressure. After September 11, Americans have pushed into the way''.

Brushing aside Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf's recent "plan'' on "seven regions'' in Kashmir, Dr. Hoodbhoy has floated yet another an idea as a short-term solution. Labelling it as more of an "administrative adjustment'' rather than a "partition'', Dr. Hoodbhoy explained: "One way could be that one State is associated with Pakistan and the another is associated with India. It could be divided by soft borders. The defence and foreign affairs for each of the State can be looked after by the respective countries. Maybe India and Pakistan could also speak about joint policing at the border''.

Stressing that this is not be the final solution, he elaborated: "This could be a face-saving way out for Pakistan and it would make a lot of sense for India too. It would be a half-way sort of measure. I am not saying that this is the final solution to Kashmir, but it might just work out for the moment.''

Though "Crossing the Lines'' openly criticises the role of the Pakistani army, Dr. Hoodbhoy is equally insistent that the solution does not lie in "bringing the former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, back to power''. Instead, he is hoping that a process of re-politicisation would bring about a change within Pakistan. "Pakistan may not be a democracy but it is a lot freer than many other democracies. For one, the media is fairly fair. So there is a silver lining. What is needed in Pakistan is re-politicisation of the country. Quaid-e-Azam University, where I teach, used to be like Jawaharlal Nehru University where elections are fought on ideological grounds. But Zia-ul-Haq destroyed all that. And now, the youth in Pakistan do not argue -- they may hit each other on the head on religious lines but there is no discussion. A process of re-politicisation should in some way lead to democracy,'' he said.

And while charting out the process of re-politicisation within Pakistan, there's a piece of advise for India as well. "India has to stop repressive exercise on Kashmir. India bears a big responsibility for this,'' he added.

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