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The News International, Wednesday, March 24, 2010 AN INITIATIVE OF THE TIMES OF INDIA AND JANG GROUP OF PAKISTAN

From Pakistan with love

Tehrik-e-Niswan carried a message of peace and disarmament, laced with humour, to the first ever South Asian Women's Theatre Festival, held in India recently
when you realise that the message you wanted to give is actually being understood by the people. The message was so well understood, in fact, that the Tehrik troupe got a standing ovation, said Paras. They related to everything in the play and with us. So it ended being a successful venture. Another member of the Tehrik troupe, Ali Rizvi (also a former NAPA student) found the trip very fruitful. For one thing there was the message of peace, he said. Secondly, doing and watching theatre in India really helps an actors development. The difference between theatre in Pakistan and India is like that of a compounder and a doctor, he said. Both countries gained independence at the same time but Indian theatre has developed and its own discoveries. We in Pakistan are at an earlier stage, because in India they made academies right from the start, he said. Instead of raising problems the Pakistani authorities need to learn something from them and promote theatre on a larger level. When going for higher studies he added, a country like India works best for Pakistanis, given that almost everything is the same from clothes to cuisine, as compared to going to a Western country. Talking about the Aman ki Asha initiative, all three theatre people agreed that it is a great venture and it should be utilised for bigger projects and not just messages. Ventures like Aman ki Asha are required to genuinely look into the peace dream, said Sheema Kermani. At the same time such ventures should help artists from both countries to bring their plays and performances to each others stages. Such exchanges are necessary for mutual learning, said Rizvi, elaborating, Our actors are very good at diction and pure Urdu pronunciation and they can do brilliant emotional content if directed propIndians are erly. stronger in the areas of dance and music. Since returning, Tehrik-e-Niswan has plunged headlong into another festival Tlism, the 10-day long event b e i n g held at the Arts Council Karachi, showcasing some of their signature performances, both dance and drama, including Jang Ab Nahin Ho Gi. That is a hope we all share.

HOPE OF PAKISTAN HINDU COUNCIL

Peace with equality

By Dr Ramesh Kumar Wankwani India has a larger populavery war is followed tion, but its government should by hopes of peace. know that if the Times of India Aman ki Asha is an efcontinues its efforts, peace is fort for peace that bound to prevail. provides such a hope, that will India has for long been help ease tensions and prevent committing a mistake in not a third war between nuclearmaintaining peace in the rearmed India and Pakistan. gion. As the bigger country, They have fought wars in the India will have to face bigger past, but this is not an option losses in case of war as Pakanymore. The current efforts istan too is a nuclear power. to maintain harmony between Indias claim that it will fight a them gives rise to hope that small scale or limited war is peace will eventually prevail. foolishness as wars only lead to The people of Pakistan and destruction and devastation. India truly appreciate the efTo give a realistic shape to forts initiated by the Jang the hope for peace, the first Group of Pakistan and Times step is to create equality. If of India. We would like to conequality is established, then vey this message to the rulers there will be no hurdle in the of both countries. Pakistan Hindu Council cordingly. Before the partition way of maintaining peace. Despite the passage of 62 keenly desires peace. This sub- of Pakistan and India, Hindus continent is a land of sufis, and Muslims lived together and years, it seems that many Indisaints and holy men. If efforts brotherhood prevailed. Despite ans and Pakistanis have not acare made to promote peace, having separate identities and cepted each others existence. The main conflict between Indias concept of limited war religions, they have much in can be restricted, which is common. Both nations lived Pakistan and India is the Kashwhat peace-loving people de- peacefully together and ex- mir issue, which should be resire everywhere. The whole pelled the British from the sub- solved according to the wishes purpose is to prevent war and continent through collective ef- of the Kashmiri. Besides this, reduction in the arms race, and forts. end conflict. Despite the division of the exchanges in the fields of Someone has finally come tourism, culture, trade, sports, forward and shown an interest education, print and electronic in maintaining peace at a very media will help reduce tensions public platform. We should not between the two countries. let slip this golden opportunity. Such exchanges We should underwill also provide a stand that this is a The Pakistan Hindu Council suitable environmessage of peace, desires that dialogue on vital ment in maintainwhich was spread peace. With by sufi saints like issues should begin on the basis ing frequent visits Shah Abdul Latif and meetings of Bhittai, Baghat of equality. This will not only intellectuals and Ram, Kunkwar help in changing the scenario, authors of India Baba Bullay Shah, Pakistan these Sufi Baba Ajmer but it will also have positive wishes and hopes Sharif and others. can materialise Now concrete effects on this subcontinent into reality. steps need to be The Pakistan Hindu Council taken to attain the goal of sub-continent, many things can desires that dialogue on vital ispeace at the earliest. Media is known as the make this region a region of sues should begin on the basis fourth pillar of the state. It can peace. Pakistan and India are of equality. This will not only play a key role in generating separate countries, but the help in changing the scenario, awareness regarding hope for people trust each other and but it will also have positive efpeace. The media in India and love peace and brotherhood, fects on this subcontinent. Once again, heartiest conPakistan have started efforts to and also respect each others promote peace. If these efforts geographical boundaries. Be- gratulations to the Jang Group fail, the future of people in sides this, there are a large of Pakistan and Times of India number of people from both for initiating efforts for peace both countries will be dark. It is the need of the hour to sides who respect and follow in the region. understand the desire of peo- the teachings of our sufis and The writer is Patron, ple for peace and judge it ac- saints. Pakistan Hindu council

By Rafay Mahmood eela, the first ever South Asian Women's Theatre Festival kicked off in Delhi on March 8 -- the hundredth anniversary of International Women's Day. Held in India from March 8-15 in Delhi and Chandigarh, the Festival was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in collaboration with the reputed National School of Drama and the Jamia Millia University. It drew 14 groups from nine South Asian countries. Among them was a twenty fivemember troupe of dancers, singers and actors from Pakistan the Tehrike-Niswan Cultural Action Group who performed the play Jang Ab Nahin Ho Gi at the Festival in Chandigarh and New Delhi. Jang Ab Nahin Ho Gi is based on Aristophanes classic fifth century play Lysistrata a raunchy, biting anti-war satire that is probably the earliest known feminist play. The play, directed by Sheema Kermani and Anwer Jafri, was adapted to contemporary times by the well-known activist poet Fahmida

Jang Ab Nahi Ho Gi (curtain call STANDING OVATION - Tehrik-e-Niswans and a scene from the play); below left: Stand up poster for Leela, the South Asian Women's Theatre Festival; right: Sheema Kermani - dance on. Photos - courtesy: Sheema Kermani Riaz and Anwer Jafri. Talking to The News about the experience in India after their return, Tehrik-eNiswans founder member Sheema Kermani stressed the importance of theatre as a tool for peace and social change. I am convinced that theatre is the most effective medium in promoting peace between Pakistan and India. It is through such exchanges of artists and performers that a change can happen because the performing arts are among the most convincing art forms, she said. They can affect the thinking process as nothing else can. Elaborating on the theme of Jang Ab Nahin Ho Gi which has a huge cast including 13 women, she explained that fundamentally it is an anti war play. Taking an antiwar play to India is itself a message of peace, she said. Through this play we wanted to give a message of peace, love and disarmament from people of Pakistan and we also wanted to underline the fact that mutual understanding and cooperation is the only way out, as opposed to fighting. Paras Masroor, who studied theatre at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) and was part of the Tehrik troupe has performed in India before. He felt that each time the response of the people and their hospitality just gets better and better. Performing in India has always been great for me. For any artist, audience matters a lot. Fortunately the Indian audience is very mature and can connect with the artist on a higher level after all, performing arts have been a part of their culture and mythology for ages, he told The News. You feel great

n May 2000 during Musharrafs visit to India, I was cornered in a live TV programme in New Delhi by Rajdeep Sardesai then with NDTV , with JN Dixit and Kuldip Nayar as my fellow panelists. They kept harping about Pakistan Armys excesses in East Pakistan in 1971 until I offered to bear their costs for travel and accommodation next time there was a hockey or cricket match in Dhaka Stadium between India and Pakistan. They did not take up my offer because they knew very well which team the Bangladeshis would root for. This was seen to good effect when (then) PM Mian Nawaz Sharif visited the Dhaka Stadium as Bangladesh PM Hasina Wajids guest during a PakistanIndia cricket match. The entire Dhaka Stadium was cheering the Pakistan team (opening pair Saeed Anwar and Amer Sohail were going berserk, those were the days). They rose up as one when the Pakistan PM walked into the Stadium. It is true that Pakistan made blunders leading to 1971. However the mistakes were not onesided; there are always two sides to a story. Pakistan was considered the villain of the piece in 1971, but to quote Larry Choudhury, a Bangladeshi settled in the USA:

The future, not the past

It is true that Pakistan made blunders leading to 1971. However the mistakes were not one-sided - there are always two sides to a story, writes Ikram Sehgal
The fall of Dhaka at the hands of the Indian Army was followed with looting and stealing at gunpoint by the Indian army personnel in various parts of the country including posh Dhaka. I saw this with my own eyes on December 23-31, 1971 and January 01-09, 1972 at various parts of the country. Also I saw Indian army taking advantage at the Aricha Ghat from the fruitsellers, particularly those selling boroi or kool and narkeli-kool (fruit with goldenplum like taste and a single seed) getting them at subsidised price via 58% inflated Indian Trimurti brand currencies. These looters looted Dhaka's New Market, Stadium Market, and Baitul Mukarram Market areas almost at gunpoint within a week or two and made off with Chinese single/double barrel flasks, Canadian Winchester torches (flashlights), Chinese and European suitcases/brief-cases. Chinese nailcutters, Chinese and Korean Mohammad Zainal Abedin of Bangladesh writes in a separate article: In 1971 though India claimed victory over Pakistan in Bangladesh, its forces could not capture even a district in West Pakistan, rather hundreds of thousands of Indian soldiers were captured by Pakistani troops and many Indian soldiers surrendered to Pakistan. So the socalled victory of Indian army in Bangladesh against Pakistan was possible due to the Bangladeshis in general and the freedom fighters in particular. If we were allowed to liberate our country ourselves, India would not get the chance to loot

our country as they did after 16th December that included machineries and accessories of jute mills, textile mills, sugar mills, steel mills and their raw materials stored in the godowns, food, banks, markets, schools, colleges, universities, even residential houses and offices, even toilet materials worth almost Tk. 90,000 crores. India misappropri-

ready-made clothes (shirts, pants, etc.), foreign leather belts, radios/transistors, regular torch or transistor batteries, and numerous other consumer items. Television was not quite an attractive piece for these looters because they had hardly any TV station to watch or make programs. The Indian looters were carrying them to their Atal jeeps and Shaktiman trucks. Loading these vehicles continued until the elegant Sheikh

came from London on January 10, 1972. In presence of the Sheikh these vehicles carried armaments left by the Pakistani Army in various cantonments. But the Sheikh or his lieutenants did not see it. I have seen each of these events, when I was visiting various parts of my country during that time (What India did to the nascent Bangladesh immediately after December 16, 1971?, Mombu Internet Forum, Sept 01 2004).

ated cash money and relief materials like food, baby food, clothes, blankets, medicines, etc., that were do-

nated by several international agencies and groups for the Bangladeshi refugees sheltered in India in 1971. It is difficult to calculate how many billions of dollars India looted from Bangladesh through monopoly business since 1972. Through the independence war of Bangladesh India was immensely benefited economically, militarily, strategically, and internationally. So India involve in our war of liberation was for Indian interest, not for us (India held in our liberation war for India's interests, http://newsfrombangladesh.net/) Along with 32 other officers and 1000 other ranks, I became a prisoner of war (PW) in India in early April 1971. Undeclared by India, the first PW Camp for Pakistani prisoners of war was opened by the Indian Armys Eastern Command on April 25, 1971 -- eight months before actual war broke out on Dec 3, 1971 -- in Panagarh in West Bengal, close to the Bihar border. Before that some of us who were shifted to Panagarh by Indian Air Force from Agartala were kept in an

Indian jail in Agartala. As the first Pakistani PW to ever escape from an Indian PW camp, I had to fight the war all over again in Dec 1971. While it sounds good for world perception for India to claim that they never interfered in East Pakistan, India should consider itself lucky that despite 1971s bitter experience, Pakistan wants to resolve all issues so that wars of the 1971 type are not repeated on the nuclear scale - a distinct possibility if we dont take the road to peace. While one should never forget the past or condone excesses by any side, the world does move on. After centuries of internecine warfare based on race, religion and/or pure hatred for no conceivable reason, consider what Europe has become today. We must have peace with India, not on Indian terms or Pakistani terms, but on terms that are good for India as well as for its neighbours. That is the only way forward. That is the only future for our children that makes sense This article is dedicated to US Marine Sgt Frank Adair (frankyboye@msn.com) the American who saved my life in Calcutta in 1971 after I escaped from the Indian PW Camp on July 16, 1971).

DESTINATION PEACE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

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A peace initiative whose time has come... Destination Peace: A commitment by the Jang Group, GEO and The Times of India Group to create an enabling environment that brings the people of Pakistan and India closer together, contributing to genuine and durable peace with honour between our countries.