Pakistanis and Indians learn not to hate, but appreciate

Two-hour sessions gave chance to more than 60 youngsters to interact

LAHORE: To eradicate hatred and suspicion, and create platforms to foster friendship, the first Indo-Pak open mic was organised on Saturday.

The two hour interactive session brought together more than 60 youngsters and children from both sides of the border through a video conference.

Indian minister blames Pakistan for strained Indo-Pak ties

The session, organised by Aaghaz-e-Dosti, got under way with several musical performances by Pakistani and Indian artistes. The song and dance was followed by a question-answer session. According to Raza Khan, the convener and key founder of the initiative, the event is part of a series of activities to eliminate prejudice through various mediums such as letter writing and video links.

According to him, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, which means the beginning of a friendship, is a Delhi and Lahore-based Indo-Pak friendship initiative hoping to increase people-to-people interaction between both countries.

For the first open mic event, 25 members from the Delhi-based Ideal Youth Health and Welfare Society participated in the video call.  The organisation was founded by Vijay Kumar and works with marginalised youths, including dalits and school dropouts.

Raza said that through such activities, the society hopes to become a medium through which people discover the true reality on the other side of the border.

“We believe that miscommunication has helped sustain the conflict and has increased the challenges of eradicating poverty, extremism and over-population. Both countries should redirect resources spent on the security apparatus to people’s welfare,” Raza said.

Both countries attribute terrorism and religious fundamentalism to the other side, not realising it is a regional issue. This can only be curtailed through people asserting pressure on their respective governments to adopt policies based on friendship and cooperation.

Sharing her thoughts on the activity, the convener from Delhi, Devika Mittal, said the lack of communication is one of the prime factors that contribute to the conflict. She said that both sides have constructed an opposing view of the other and this shapes our attitude towards the Indo-Pak conflict.

“Through our initiatives, we have been trying to bridge the gap between communication and miscommunication,” Devika said.

“We have seen that when people actually get to interact with the supposed enemies, of whom they have only heard, perceptions change”, she added.

Devika said that when people find out that Indians and Pakistanis are similar in all respects, there is a change in attitude and faith returns in conflict resolution through dialogue.



Another team member and moderator from Lahore, Atiqa Shahid, said many people from both sides are trying to create interfaith harmony and remove barriers raised by hate-filled rhetoric. She said it was particularly heartening to see a 12-year-old girl from India asking if Muslims in Pakistan visit Mandirs just like Hindus visit Dargahs in India.

Youngsters and other participants also highlighted the need for an easier visa process.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2017.