BAY
AREA WELL-WISHERS OF SOUTH ASIA NOT READY TO GIVE UP HOPE
By Hina Wyne
Lytton Plaza, downtown Palo Alto, was the site
this Saturday, May 25th, of the fifth of a series of monthly vigils,
organized locally by the Friends of South Asia (FOSA).
The idea of simultaneous monthly peace vigils
held around the globe was conceived by peace groups in India and
Pakistan. The program of simultaneous vigils calls for peace-loving
people all over the world to gather in the name of peace on the
same day every month. The hope is that a global effort will help
influence the policies of India and Pakistan and shake the rest
of the world out of their indifference to a conflict that would
directly affect a fifth of humanity and lead to a global catastrophe
of the unthinkable proportions. The first of these monthly vigils
was held simultaneously on January 27 in 18 cities around the globe.
Thousands of people attended the vigils in India, Pakistan and the
US. FOSA -- having already held two vigils in the Bay Area for Peace
in South Asia -- joined this effort and has been holding monthly
vigils since.
Forty-five concerned citizens turned up for
this Saturday's vigil. Their somber faces indicated their frustration
and their concern about the current increase in tensions, where
warmongers in both countries are urging their governments towards
a "decisive war". A few attendees at the rally fearfully
noted that a disastrous war was in sight, and it would take tremendous
courage to avoid the calamity.
Attendees at the May 25th vigil said prayers and listened to speeches
and briefings.
Speaking to the participants of the vigil
Ali Hasan Cemendtaur said that common people of South Asia have
been going through periods of extreme mental torture, living under
the the threat of a nuclear war. Their agony results from the incompetence
of leadership that cannot resolve issues through dialogue. The leaders
of both countries are getting paid for jobs they have shown dismal
performance in. Mr. Cemendtaur said he thought it was time to file
a lawsuit for criminal negligence against the leaders of India and
Pakistan. He noted that even if the courts decide to award a jail
sentence of 5 seconds for every person being tormented because of
the failure of the inept leadership, it will come out to be a sentence
of 91 years and 60 days for Vajpayee, and an equal time for Musharraf.
Also speaking to the crowd, Ashish Chadha
pointed out the follies of the BJP Government. He explained how
the extremists within the BJP Government are not only against Pakistan,
but are also against the Muslims and other religious minorities
within India. No sane person, Mr. Chadha said, could doubt that
the present government, which is giving India a bad name, is the
real enemy of India. He argued that fundamentalist forces within
both Pakistan and India do not want to engage with the problems
in their own countries-of poverty, of education, of health-and use
the rhetoric of war to divert the attention of people from these
pressing problems of the common man in both countries. In India
the BJP government have consistently followed the politics of hatred
and a jingoism of violence-with the only aim being the attainment
of political power. The nuclear explosions in 1998 epitomized this
attitude and a war with Pakistan will finally destroy the "evil
enemy". But in this destruction India will also be destroyed,
as a nuclear war will push the subcontinent into the stone age-the
dreams of those who fought against the independence movement will
go into smoke and both the countries will be left with death, destruction
and complete annihilation.
In his speech Sabahat Ashraf said that
any political party, any government should know that the bottom
line for governance is the well-being of the common people. The
principles of the founders of India and Pakistan, the non-violence
of Mahatma Gandhi and the community feeling of Mohammad Ali Jinnah
was being betrayed by the leaders of both countries. Mr. Ashraf
said that the people gathered in Palo Alto were themselves very
patriotic, very nationalistic Indians, Pakistanis and their well-wishers
from South Asia, North America and around the globe. It was their
love and friendship for the people of South Asia and not the governments
of South Asia that brought them out to protest a situation that
only made life worse in a region where illiteracy, poverty, hunger,
and disease where the real enemies. He said that inflexible bigots
that only believed in hate needed to be spoken against wherever
they were and whichever community they were part of.
Indhika Jagaratham, a Tamil from Sri Lanka
talked about the peace brokered in her country recently. "People
have come to realize that years of fighting have given them nothing
but death and destruction. They want to live in peace." She
prayed that the people of India and Pakistan would also realize
this before reaching the disastrous end the current crisis is inching
towards.
Akhila Raman said that India and Pakistan
are dangerously close to an all-out war. She pointed out that many
Indians and Pakistanis believe that nuclear exchange is a myth and
that it would not happen in reality. She said that this is not true;
Pakistan has far less conventional weaponry than India and has every
incentive to strike first. In fact, she reminded the crowd that
former White House aide Bruce Reidel had recently revealed that
Pakistan did indeed prepare for nuclear strikes during hostilities
over Kargil in '99, acc. to Bruce Riedel, a former White house aide.
A nuclear exchange would very be much a reality if war starts.
Ms. Raman went on to say that the damage
caused by Nuclear weapons is not localized; radioactive debris from
a nuclear missile launched from India on Lahore, which is close
to the Indian border can spread back to India and become suicidal
for India itself, beside the horrendous destruction it would cause
in Pakistan. She said that sane people anywhere in the world must
not let this happen.
Kashmir, Ms. Raman said, is the underlying
flashpoint and must be resolved with unconditional dialogue between
India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris themselves. Kashmir is not a commodity
to be bartered between India and Pakistan; it is about people who
are bleeding and dying today. They must be included in any dialogue
about their future.
Informally speaking to the group afterwards,
Professor Ravi Rajan, a veteran activist with years of social action
behind him, while appreciating the event, said that it is not enough
for people to come to the peace rallies and then not take any further
action. If the imminent war is to be averted, people have to be
really active. They need to make calls, as well as send faxes and
email messages to US government officials and other leaders of the
world community demanding that they work hard to prevent a catastrophe
and foster peace and prosperity in South Asia.
"Please realize that the lives of
millions of your fellow countrymen depend on you. Don't procrastinate.
Pick up the phone and make a few calls everyday."
Several of the demonstrators present at
the vigil carried homemade signs with slogans such as 'Cowards Make
War, the Brave Make Peace'; 'When Governments Go to War, Citizens
Die'; and 'No One Wins a Nuclear War.'
FOSA plans to continue its participation
in the Global Vigils. The next event is on Saturday, June 29, at
Lytton Plaza, Palo Alto. All peace-loving people are encouraged
to participate.