03-24-2005, 07:16 PM
Guys read what follows, AID is funding Sandeep Pandey's bullshit to protect women from being bashed. AID is digging its grave and we should encourage it to do so.
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Thank you AID-TAMU for voicing their reservations about AID's participation in this event. I respect those questions and without duly considering them it will be difficult to achieve a balanced perspective and an optimal response and action to our work. I beg everyone's indulgence in reading the entire email and posting responses on the forum at http://forum.aidindia.org
Let us get down to analyzing the questions posed. Most of the questions are inter-related and there are no clear-cut (black and white type) answers to individual question but we shall try our best to get across (as much as possible) our point of view to these questions through this mail.
Question (1) peace march is NOT a "developmental" activity. is it as important to building a school or a health center or looking at human rights or women's rights issues or dalit rights issues?
Sanat gave the bottom-line answer vis-a-vis the war-budgets of both nations and the sacrifice of social programs. In my discussions with Dr. Rohila, Jatin Desai and host of others this week, I have a better perspective on the issues involved.
Plainly, India and Pakistan are two of the 15 major military spenders in the world. About 15% of India's budget, and 20% of Pakistan's budget is dedicated to Military expenditure, at a time when the two countries rank at the bottom of all nations in terms of literacy, poverty, infant mortality, and malnutrition among children. Money that could be used for development is being siphoned off to expand the war machinery. Also, war and conflict drives away foreign investments.
We had talked to Nafisa Barot of NGO Utthan on Friday and she quoted studies correlating "peace" to gender violence in the society; meaning when the Indian nation and society perceives an outside threat, there is an increased violence against women. Women's empowerment is a major THEME in any development work and certainly in AID's work. In the ensuing weeks, I will circulate these studies.
Question (2) What will be the tangible results from this Indo - Pak peace march?
The peace march is just one component of our many approach to achieving tangible results. Other efforts, besides peace initiatives, economic co-operation, cultural exchanges, re-uniting families separated during partition will help us understand each other better. Many other parallel diplomatic strategies have been outlined by Jatin Desai and others.
Also peace helps in creating an atmosphere conducive for "development". Goodwill and friendship between the two "warring" countries will in the long term drastically reduce militarization and defense budget and the monies saved from there will naturally go towards developmental activities and we will see increased allocation for primary education, health and rural development.
Question (3) Many expressed their reluctance of dealing with Pakistan citizens when most of us know that the core issue is the fate of Kashmir. How will it help in resolving the issue of Kashmir?
Reluctance to deal with Pakistan citizens (of for that matter citizens of any country, or any group) smacks of bigotry and prejudice. There are many citizens of Pakistan, as well as that of India, who want "peace not war", and "friendship not enmity".
Further, the area, population, and GDP of the contested region of J&K (i.e., Kashmir Valley) constitute 0.25 percent of the total area, population and GDP of India and Pakistan. It is unwise on any one's part to allow this issue to block the development of good neighborly relationship between the countries.
We in AID-Houston have a completely different view on Indo-Pak relations and Kashmir. We think Kashmir is not the core issue as is made out to be. It is definitely an issue and an important one but not on the top of our list. I think the core issue should be in resolving and understanding what people on either side of the border feel about each other. Both sides (people and not just the politicians and heads of state) should explore the commonalities that bind us and respect the differences that seperate us.
We are very keen to understand what Pakistanis think of us, what makes them insecure, the cause of their hatred (not always), things that bind us (tangibles such as Food, Dress and fashion, Dance, Music and Cricket and the intangibles such as religion (Sikhism is a natural amalgamation of Hinduism and Islam), shared history of being under the Bristish occupation for over two centuries), common problems (for example, sharing the waters from the rivers) and things they like about us. We believe the solution to any problem can only be achieved if we understand each others perspective on different and varied issues and not solely on one or the other like Kashmir. Even if Kashmir gets solved in a pointed diplomatic effort and pressure from US and EU, the larger problem of mistrust and hostility may persist.
Question ( 4) How will the march convince Pakistani Army - the primary decision maker in Pakistan to be more accommodative towards India?
Well, I can make a stronger argument against doing any development project in India when the government and the business-minded NRI community seek to dismantle protections in place in the Constitution for the commom man. This is a point P. Sainath repeatedly made in his talk recently in Houston and elsewhere amongst AID chapters. We are doing lip service when we should be drawing the line in the political arena demanding political accountability from your own government. What right do we have to demand from another? Anyways, let's take a step back : surely, the common Pakistani man thinking peace is probably a bigger challenge for the Pakstani military in its efforts to hold political power than any threat India held over it.
The Pakistanis who are in India to see cricket matches are receiving royal treatments from the people of Punjab and it is jokingly said that something like a "punjabiyat" is emerging. The results from this necessity of friendship is clearly visible in the warm reception. And we believe this is where people to people contacts are critical to a long term solution that goes beyond resolving conflicts and focuses on building relationships. The march is one such step that would enable us to bring the people of both countries much closer( physically and emotionally).
The outward bravado and posturing between the nations during the time of nuclear tests was just plain ludicrous. I go so far to say that there would be no need for AID to exist were there peace in the region and barring, human greed and corruption, the governments would be focused on the welfare of its people.
Even though the Pakistani army is a major player but people do clamor for democracy and for increased people's participation in their own governance. A certain semblance of democracy is definitely important for peace and such a people-to-people exchange will definitely bolster the morale of the common man's hopes for peace and prosperity. We have to maintain the momentum so that any decisions by the Pakistani army which disrupt the peace process become extremely unpopular in Pakistan.
We hope it will help build momentum for the movement among some sections of India and Pakistan to impress upon the two governments that peace, not war, is the need of the hour, in the subcontinent. Towards this end, President Musharraf had a meeting on Friday with both Sandeep Pandey and Karamat Ali to discuss the peace march. I sure hope the Indian Parliament or the Prime Minister will duly
reciprocate.
Question (5) I personally had problems with some of the names that are leading the march and what they are going to say during the march. The media publicity that will follow regarding the controversial comments will further damage AID when we are trying to counter the ongoing slander campaign.
Personally, I think this must be some obtuse way of saying "Sandeep Pandey". Sandeep, a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay award - has done amazing work on lot of issues. Just because of a few baseless comments, we should not stop supporting him or people we believe in. I have looked thru the internet postings sullying his work and found them to be mere innuendos. He has even been tried for treason but the Allahabad court found those charges utterly baseless and threw them out. So, we should respect our own Courts decisions and findings. ( yes? ) I will make available a personal statement from Sandeep regarding these allegations on http://forum.aidindia.org
Seriously, one can have problem with some names but it is issues that are more important and not individuals. This problem of identifying a few people (such as their spokesperson)as opposed to large number of people in the NGO is definitely impacting the NGOs work. I am so glad that within AID we share amongst everybody the important work as well as the chores as was evident in the Tsunami relief work.
All the above should point to the longest ceasefire in history between India and Pakistan - that should be an indication that people need to come together. Solving a huge problem requires several small initiatives from different directions. This is one of them. And from Aninda email and TAMU's response, clearly indicates to me that Houston and other chapters did not make a convincing case, rather implicitly assumed the merits of the project to be obvious to others as well.
In summary, I, along with members of AID-Houston and AID-Saathi Jatin Desai strongly feel that we should not continue thinking in a traditional way and need a different and fresh way to approach this issue of global peace and peace in South Asia. Thank you for your patience in hearing us out. Please do circulate this among the core-volunteers of your chapter and email houston@a... directly.
Satya meva Jayate. Jai Hind.
Sincerely,
Sherry, Ishaan, Chakri, Sriram, Karthik and all AID-Houston volunteers.
PS : Introduction to some names in the email :
Jatin Desai is one of the new AID-Saathis supported by AID-Houston. Jatin is a veteran journalist from Mumbai and has organized dialogues and forums in India and Pakistan. His views have received due respect from politicians in Pakistan such as Sherry Rehman.
Dr. Pritham Rohila is the Executive Director of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org
---------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you AID-TAMU for voicing their reservations about AID's participation in this event. I respect those questions and without duly considering them it will be difficult to achieve a balanced perspective and an optimal response and action to our work. I beg everyone's indulgence in reading the entire email and posting responses on the forum at http://forum.aidindia.org
Let us get down to analyzing the questions posed. Most of the questions are inter-related and there are no clear-cut (black and white type) answers to individual question but we shall try our best to get across (as much as possible) our point of view to these questions through this mail.
Question (1) peace march is NOT a "developmental" activity. is it as important to building a school or a health center or looking at human rights or women's rights issues or dalit rights issues?
Sanat gave the bottom-line answer vis-a-vis the war-budgets of both nations and the sacrifice of social programs. In my discussions with Dr. Rohila, Jatin Desai and host of others this week, I have a better perspective on the issues involved.
Plainly, India and Pakistan are two of the 15 major military spenders in the world. About 15% of India's budget, and 20% of Pakistan's budget is dedicated to Military expenditure, at a time when the two countries rank at the bottom of all nations in terms of literacy, poverty, infant mortality, and malnutrition among children. Money that could be used for development is being siphoned off to expand the war machinery. Also, war and conflict drives away foreign investments.
We had talked to Nafisa Barot of NGO Utthan on Friday and she quoted studies correlating "peace" to gender violence in the society; meaning when the Indian nation and society perceives an outside threat, there is an increased violence against women. Women's empowerment is a major THEME in any development work and certainly in AID's work. In the ensuing weeks, I will circulate these studies.
Question (2) What will be the tangible results from this Indo - Pak peace march?
The peace march is just one component of our many approach to achieving tangible results. Other efforts, besides peace initiatives, economic co-operation, cultural exchanges, re-uniting families separated during partition will help us understand each other better. Many other parallel diplomatic strategies have been outlined by Jatin Desai and others.
Also peace helps in creating an atmosphere conducive for "development". Goodwill and friendship between the two "warring" countries will in the long term drastically reduce militarization and defense budget and the monies saved from there will naturally go towards developmental activities and we will see increased allocation for primary education, health and rural development.
Question (3) Many expressed their reluctance of dealing with Pakistan citizens when most of us know that the core issue is the fate of Kashmir. How will it help in resolving the issue of Kashmir?
Reluctance to deal with Pakistan citizens (of for that matter citizens of any country, or any group) smacks of bigotry and prejudice. There are many citizens of Pakistan, as well as that of India, who want "peace not war", and "friendship not enmity".
Further, the area, population, and GDP of the contested region of J&K (i.e., Kashmir Valley) constitute 0.25 percent of the total area, population and GDP of India and Pakistan. It is unwise on any one's part to allow this issue to block the development of good neighborly relationship between the countries.
We in AID-Houston have a completely different view on Indo-Pak relations and Kashmir. We think Kashmir is not the core issue as is made out to be. It is definitely an issue and an important one but not on the top of our list. I think the core issue should be in resolving and understanding what people on either side of the border feel about each other. Both sides (people and not just the politicians and heads of state) should explore the commonalities that bind us and respect the differences that seperate us.
We are very keen to understand what Pakistanis think of us, what makes them insecure, the cause of their hatred (not always), things that bind us (tangibles such as Food, Dress and fashion, Dance, Music and Cricket and the intangibles such as religion (Sikhism is a natural amalgamation of Hinduism and Islam), shared history of being under the Bristish occupation for over two centuries), common problems (for example, sharing the waters from the rivers) and things they like about us. We believe the solution to any problem can only be achieved if we understand each others perspective on different and varied issues and not solely on one or the other like Kashmir. Even if Kashmir gets solved in a pointed diplomatic effort and pressure from US and EU, the larger problem of mistrust and hostility may persist.
Question ( 4) How will the march convince Pakistani Army - the primary decision maker in Pakistan to be more accommodative towards India?
Well, I can make a stronger argument against doing any development project in India when the government and the business-minded NRI community seek to dismantle protections in place in the Constitution for the commom man. This is a point P. Sainath repeatedly made in his talk recently in Houston and elsewhere amongst AID chapters. We are doing lip service when we should be drawing the line in the political arena demanding political accountability from your own government. What right do we have to demand from another? Anyways, let's take a step back : surely, the common Pakistani man thinking peace is probably a bigger challenge for the Pakstani military in its efforts to hold political power than any threat India held over it.
The Pakistanis who are in India to see cricket matches are receiving royal treatments from the people of Punjab and it is jokingly said that something like a "punjabiyat" is emerging. The results from this necessity of friendship is clearly visible in the warm reception. And we believe this is where people to people contacts are critical to a long term solution that goes beyond resolving conflicts and focuses on building relationships. The march is one such step that would enable us to bring the people of both countries much closer( physically and emotionally).
The outward bravado and posturing between the nations during the time of nuclear tests was just plain ludicrous. I go so far to say that there would be no need for AID to exist were there peace in the region and barring, human greed and corruption, the governments would be focused on the welfare of its people.
Even though the Pakistani army is a major player but people do clamor for democracy and for increased people's participation in their own governance. A certain semblance of democracy is definitely important for peace and such a people-to-people exchange will definitely bolster the morale of the common man's hopes for peace and prosperity. We have to maintain the momentum so that any decisions by the Pakistani army which disrupt the peace process become extremely unpopular in Pakistan.
We hope it will help build momentum for the movement among some sections of India and Pakistan to impress upon the two governments that peace, not war, is the need of the hour, in the subcontinent. Towards this end, President Musharraf had a meeting on Friday with both Sandeep Pandey and Karamat Ali to discuss the peace march. I sure hope the Indian Parliament or the Prime Minister will duly
reciprocate.
Question (5) I personally had problems with some of the names that are leading the march and what they are going to say during the march. The media publicity that will follow regarding the controversial comments will further damage AID when we are trying to counter the ongoing slander campaign.
Personally, I think this must be some obtuse way of saying "Sandeep Pandey". Sandeep, a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay award - has done amazing work on lot of issues. Just because of a few baseless comments, we should not stop supporting him or people we believe in. I have looked thru the internet postings sullying his work and found them to be mere innuendos. He has even been tried for treason but the Allahabad court found those charges utterly baseless and threw them out. So, we should respect our own Courts decisions and findings. ( yes? ) I will make available a personal statement from Sandeep regarding these allegations on http://forum.aidindia.org
Seriously, one can have problem with some names but it is issues that are more important and not individuals. This problem of identifying a few people (such as their spokesperson)as opposed to large number of people in the NGO is definitely impacting the NGOs work. I am so glad that within AID we share amongst everybody the important work as well as the chores as was evident in the Tsunami relief work.
All the above should point to the longest ceasefire in history between India and Pakistan - that should be an indication that people need to come together. Solving a huge problem requires several small initiatives from different directions. This is one of them. And from Aninda email and TAMU's response, clearly indicates to me that Houston and other chapters did not make a convincing case, rather implicitly assumed the merits of the project to be obvious to others as well.
In summary, I, along with members of AID-Houston and AID-Saathi Jatin Desai strongly feel that we should not continue thinking in a traditional way and need a different and fresh way to approach this issue of global peace and peace in South Asia. Thank you for your patience in hearing us out. Please do circulate this among the core-volunteers of your chapter and email houston@a... directly.
Satya meva Jayate. Jai Hind.
Sincerely,
Sherry, Ishaan, Chakri, Sriram, Karthik and all AID-Houston volunteers.
PS : Introduction to some names in the email :
Jatin Desai is one of the new AID-Saathis supported by AID-Houston. Jatin is a veteran journalist from Mumbai and has organized dialogues and forums in India and Pakistan. His views have received due respect from politicians in Pakistan such as Sherry Rehman.
Dr. Pritham Rohila is the Executive Director of Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org