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Crucial role of journalists in Indo-Pak unification |
Current rating: 0 |
by Tanveer Jafri
Email: tanveerjafriamb (nospam) gmail.com (verified)
Phone: 0091-171-2535628
Address: 1630/11 , Mahavir Nagar Ambala City, Haryana, India |
05 Feb 2006
Modified: 12:19:04 PM |
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Journalists, intelectuals & thousend of the peoples from different walkes of the life have visited India and Pakistan. They saw that the common public of both countries want to be unite.Because this is the need of the time on global level that India and Pakistan must unite, and because leaders of both countries are not looking so seious for this issue, journalist of both countries should take open step. |
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It is an agreed fact that politicians earn their reputation by giving air to problems, abrogation and envy. Today Mohammed Ali Jinnah may be an ideal for majority of the Muslims. Jinnah may be accepted as founder of Pakistan but in spite of it, there are many Muslims who creative the role of Jinnah in the partition of India-Pakistan 1947. The people who call India-Pakistan partition, a horror criticize not only Jinnah but Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime Minister of India, also for his so said political longings.
Six decades have past, since India and Pakistan got freedom from the slavery of the British. During this period, the steps advanced by these two nations towards development after independence and partition are not concealed. Along with it, the citizens of these two countries are well aware of the trap of the World Bank, where these are finding themselves entrapped economically. The population problems o f both these two countries India and Pakistan is showing a gloomy future, day by day. Both the countries are facing various problems of illiteracy, ignorance, anarchy and unsocial elements. Communalism and casteism are flourishing in these countries. Corruption, selfishness and money earning politics are the order of the day. But it is that instead of finding remedies for these problems, both the governments look busy in storing the armaments. Where poverty, hunger and unemployment are the death causing news, in those countries the military equipment is being begged for from the western countries what is paradox! Analysts agree that with the price of a simple fighter aero plane, ten schools can be opened and these can be run for ten years. It means that purchase of a fighter aero plane is preferred to over the teaching of five thousand children and making them self dependent. Obviously all these decisions, made by the rulers, are done keeping in view the vote politics.
Since last few years, the governments of both are trying to create an atmosphere of improving mutual trust and relations between India and Pakistan. For this, many high level summits on political level and discussions at the prime minister, the foreign minister and the foreign secretary level had been organized and all this is expected to continue. New road and rail passages are being opened between these two countries and more are likely to be opened. Along with it, the journalists who establish a daily and direct conversation between the citizens of these two countries are playing a crucial role to make the cordial relations between the two countries. For the last many years, Kuldeep nayyar, a senior columnist and well known ex-statesman of India, has been seen lighting the candle of peace’, Shamma-e-Aman on Indo-Pak border on 14thAugust evening. There are many columnists and persons associated with media, who always try to axe the wall drawn between India and Pakistan. Here it is not obnoxious to say that as some objectionable and undeserving people had intruded in respectable field such as politics and religion, similarly in the field of Journalism, some people can be seen in both the countries. Who may have links with a particular stream of thought or associated with the ruling people or persons who feel themselves downgraded if India and Pakistan remove the barriers and have cordial relations. Even today those people can be seen poisoning the pleasant air, likely to below between these two countries.
Certainly, there are some intellectual and serious personalities in the fields of literature and journalism in India and Pakistan, who always try, with the help of their pen, to establish warm and cordial relations between both the countries. Sometimes they try for the unification of India and Pakistan and want it to happen in the very near future. They consider it a blunder committed. They want tore move it’s all signs. But Kashmir has become such a burning problem between these two countries or it has been made so, by the politicians, that succeeds in keeping a distance between these two countries. It is a matter to regret that attempts of the journalists, to remove the distance created, in the presence of surviving problem of Kashmir, becomes futile and they fall a prey to partiality. The writer or the journalist who should be a true writer or a journalist if he writes something on Kashmir problem, he is seen as playing the role of Indian or Pakistani journalist. Undoubtedly, these circumstances give power to the leaders of the thought, who find shatter in boundaries & distances, war & devastation.
Often, for uniting both the countries, the intellectuals give example of unification of East & West Germany. Example of European currency EURO is also given, that came into existence, to compete with American Dollar. But both the countries don’t give any encouraging constructive, serious or surprising statement for the world. They don’t take any initiative may be presented as a highest & sublime ideal before the world. Two years ago, when there was a summit of South Asian countries in Pakistan, actor & then Member of Parliament, Sunil Dutt was invited by B.B.C. in a programme based on Indo-Pak relations. I being an optimistic journalist, in that programme, wanted to know that keeping in view the feelings of peace-loving people; can there in India & Pakistan a public movement for attempts of unification not be started as was done by the people of East & West Germany? Did that movement of the people of Germany, which united Germany, needed present in them?
Sunil Dutt, who attempted for Indo-Pak unity & gave message of peace in the world, is not now among us. But I shall keep the same question before the leaders, intellectuals & writers who want to encourage the same mission. We have learned from the experience of last six decades, what in reality, the politics & politicians want & what there thinking is. It is a bitter truth that the power to increase distances, to make borders & to spread envious atmosphere to such an extent, is in politician, is not in god even. For example, the journalists who guide the society, challenges to distinguish between the true & the false, is also taken in by their oily tongue. The present circumstance provoke in us the need that intellectuals especially writers, men of literature & journalists should seriously & actively work for the unification of these two countries. They shouldn’t waste their energy on Kashmir problem or any controversy regarding boundary. These problems are becoming more controversial day by day. Let bygones be bygones. They should use their intellect & energy for the construction of bright future of their future generations. Undoubtedly, the men of literature & the journalists of both the countries can play an important role in the unification of India & Pakistan. If anyhow there attempts are successful in future & their dream is fulfill, coming generation of India & Pakistan will be obliged, for ever to the journalist for their contribution in this field. tanveerjafriamb (at) yahoo.com
TANVEER JAFRI |
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Kashmir can unite India and Pakistan |
by Tanveer Jafri
tanveerjafriamb (nospam) gmail.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
05 Feb 2006
Modified: 01:04:43 PM |
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After the terrorist attack on 13 December, 2001, on Indian Parliament, and constantly being pricked by terrorism for about 20 years now it had become unbearable for India to tolerate it. India considered the border crossing as an important factor in terrorist activities and its root cause as lying across the border. India ordered its armies for mobilization and fortification on the Indo-Pak border obviously; Pakistan had also made good arrangements in retaliation. That was the time when war clouds were hovering over India and Pakistan and war seemed inevitable and it was estimated that both the countries may use nuclear weapons. May be the wisdom of India and Pakistan leadership or a decision taken under the pressure of America, whatever it may be, keeping in view the expected disaster, both the countries withdrew their advancing steps. Again the forces were directed to go back to the barracks. After that, there started a move to gain confidence between India and Pakistan which is still going on.
Undoubtedly, both the countries have leaped a lot towards the gain of mutual confidence of each other. Opening of new ways to connect by rail and road, exchange of cultural and literary trips, exchange of Intellectuals and journalists trips, cooperative role of Pakistan favoring the Gas pipe line Agreement between India and Iran, are such achievements as show that both the countries are advancing towards mutual confidence, but there is also a bitter truth associated with these facts and that is, Kashmir problem is a burning problem. Kashmir has been a bone of contention between the two countries since the division of India and Pakistan. Pakistan calls it”Azad Kashmir” to the part which was separated from India, where as the same part has been named as `Pak Occupied Kashmir` by India. Indian region of Kashmir, accepting it as its own part and considering it equal to its other states and giving it even better status India calls it as a state of Jammu and Kashmir. Whereas Pakistan names Indian Kashmir as `Maqbuza Kashmir` or Occupied Kashmir. The incident of birth of Bangladesh in 1971 is also indirectly associated with the controversial status, of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Pakistan desires to separate Kashmir from India so that he can take revenge for the birth of Bangladesh. Pakistan is trying its best for it. To achieve this aim, Pakistan, sometimes talks of referendum in Kashmir & the other times, giving undue importance to separatist organization Hurriat conference wants to give message that the Hurriat Conference is the only real & only organization that can decide the fate of Jammu & Kashmir. Now India has got a new matter for discussion & that is Balochistan. Pakistan is showing a deep concern over the statements regarding Balochistan by India & it is expressing its angriness over it.
Anyhow it may be a controversy about Bangladesh or Kashmir or it may be about Balochistan, all these reveal that in spite of all the steps being taken for gaining mutual confidence, the talks for showing progress of this confidence by the leaders of both the countries, are not showing the needed results. Reality is that there was a cold war between India & Pakistan & it is still going on. Is it proper to carry on finding the ways for restoration of peace & the cold war at the same time? But unfortunately it is happening between India & Pakistan. Heart shake may not be there but handshake is obviously visible. This dual policy is not transmitting a friendly & congenial atmosphere to the coming generations of both the countries. Undoubtedly India played a decisive & significant role in the freedom of Bangladesh in 1971 & in separation from Pakistan. But political scene of today shows that by this act, India has established an enemy in its neighborhood which is a constant headache. It means that interference in the internal matters of a neighboring country is not always beneficial. The party which is being helped may not remain loyal & can become a harmful enemy after the passage of time.
Kashmir problem can be seen in the same anxiety over Bangladesh really represents the feelings of the people of both the countries whose part is Kashmir & whose is not? Who has the right to decide the future of Kashmir & who has not? Who represents Kashmir & who doesn’t? This problem couldn’t be solved for the last 58 years & in my opinion this problem will remain as it was or may become more complicated. The questions that surrounded Kashmir problem 50 years ago are still there & alive. So both the countries, India & Pakistan should try to solve the problem of Kashmir, which is called a heaven on earth in a peaceful manner without shedding even a single drop of blood. They should try to make Kashmir a real, heaven on earth. The most easy, simple & acceptable by the people, solution is, keeping the Kashmir solution in front; both the countries should remove their borders. The Kashmir which is a cause of terrorism, there remains always a possibility of war between the two countries, that Kashmir must be made a symbol of union and not of a distance.
For gaining the mutual confidence between India and Pakistan, many representative groups leaving aside the government level groups, the group of NGOs, of learned men of advocate, journalists, students, traders, literary men, writers, poets etc. all the group being exchanged, come back to their countries with the views that there should be unification of India & Pakistan. These two countries having the same culture should learn a lesson from the unification of two countries, east & West Germany. These two countries should take a positive step in this direction. Unification of India & Pakistan will not only give a solution of Kashmir problem only but will have a far reaching impact on the world politics. Who can deny the fact that union has a great strength? That too when the people of both the countries favor the removal of boundaries between the two countries. In my opinion, only some handfuls of people who are greedy of power, selfish & conservative having communal thoughts favor the separatist ideas. Except the few persons mentioned, the common public that wants peace, love & coordination & cooperation doesn’t want to see the boundaries between India & Pakistan. What a good! If along with the public of both the countries, the leaders of both the countries should show strong courage for the unification of these countries. If in reality, a constructive form is to be given between the mutual confidence between India & Pakistan, it is necessary to find a permanent way for the problem of Kashmir. If both the countries want to save the huge amount being spent on Military expenses, want to invest it on development sooner or later. The leaders of both these nuclear energy equipped countries will have to ditto the voice of the common people by adopting the path of unification. This is the only way that can make the heart shake & hand shake together. Beati pacifici. tanveerjafri58 (at) yahoo.co.in
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TANVEER JAFRI |
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