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`Commonality can help end crises'

Nirupama Subramanian

Taxila shows India and Pakistan share a common heritage, says Pranab

PHOTO: AP

PEEP INTO HISTORY: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee at the ruins of the ancient city of Taxila near Islamabad on Sunday.

ISLAMABAD: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee used the magnificent backdrop of the ruins of Taxila, the site of an ancient city near here, to send out a message about how the shared heritage of India and Pakistan could help resolve the disputes between the two countries. Mr. Mukherjee, who visited the UNESCO world heritage site on Sunday afternoon before flying back to New Delhi, said Taxila showed that India and Pakistan shared a common heritage and a common culture.

Taxila, the seat of Chandragupta Maurya in the 3rd century B.C, was at its peak as a centre of Buddhist learning during the reign of his grandson Asoka in the 2nd century BC.

``This commonality brings us together to resolve present crises in the spirit of understanding and amity,'' Mr. Mukherjee said, at the end of a visit that marked the beginning of a new phase in the India-Pakistan peace process.

The Minister said Taxila was the evidence of the continuity from the past to the present and the future.

``We do not merely live in dates of contemporary period,'' he said.

``There is a continuity from the past into the present, leading into the future. If we do not forget that continuity, perhaps we shall find solutions to the present problems.''

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