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When India and Pakistan cried, danced and swore peace

(Times of India, August 13, 2001)

It was ‘people magic' at work at the three-day ‘Indo-Pak People-to-People dialogue for peace and prosperity', organised by the USA-based Foundation for Human and Economic Development (FHED) and the Pune-based Pragati Foundation, which concluded at Panchgani on Saturday (Pune Times, August 11).

So potent was the connectivity between the Pakistanis and Indians, a total of 85, that at the end of the third, a five-page mandate, dubbed the ‘Panchgani Declaration' was drawn out.

The declaration urges the two countries to immediately rein in the guns and restore peace in the embattled state. More importantly, it wants the voice of the people of Kashmir to be heard. It recommends that conferences be held in Srinagar, in which the voice of the average Kashmiri is documented.

Call it magic, but right from the time a Pakistani from Hyderabad Sind got nostalgic about his home in Jaipur, to the Pune school teacher who wept openly while making an ardent plea for peace, it was evident that, emotions were running high. This magic was carried forward to the many discussions on the Kashmir imbroglio. Everybody opened up and this resulted in some very energetic arguments and debates. But all were allowed to air their views. At the end of day one, discussions remained inclusive.

But all this was forgotten when the cultural programme that followed in the evening. Young sitar player Junain Khan from Mumbai set the mood with some classical music, which was followed by Urdu shere-o-shairi by talented Pakistani poet, Ahmad Faraz. Then Delhi group ‘Nishant' took the stage and enacted many a thought provoking skit, followed by popular Hindi film songs. Armed with a dafli and dholak, they had everybody on the floor, including a group of rather shy Pakistanis from Hyderabad city. The ice was melting.

Dr. Maqbool Bhatty, retired Pakistani diplomat and retired Pakistani army general Nasir Akhtar both played an important role in the discussions. In fact, the two were instrumental in the drafting of the declaration.

Pakistanis and Indians settled in the USA were just as fired up. Pakistani Tariq Bhatty and Indians Dinesh Chandra and Annie Dandavati, sat till 4 am giving the declaration finishing touches.

On the last day, Dr. Maqbool Bhatty, led a multi-faith prayer meeting with a recitation from the Koran, which was followed by Hindu Shlokas, the Gayatri mantra and songs of St. Francis De Assissi, sung by Lesley from Mumbai.

The fact that people realised that they all came from one stock and the enmity between the nations made no sense, was brought out when all raised their arms together amidst shouts of Aman and Shanti.

A copy of the ‘Panchgani Declaration' will be hand-delivered to Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf and Indian prime minister A B Vajpayee.

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