Another teleconference between children from Rohtak (India) and Hyderabad (Pakistan) is an effort to further decentralize this peace movement. Will the people of Pakistan and India not bet on peace once they get to know each other? Prof. Ramneek Mohan describes this effort.

On 11th September we were able to have a teleconference between 15 children from Hyderabad-Sindh and 16 from Rohtak. Efforts using webcams interaction showed promise at the trial stage the same day before the actual exercise but ultimately proved unsuccessful, forcing us to shift to teleconferencing.

In Rohtak the same morning, a workshop was held with children from three schools - Pathania Public School, Nalanda Public School and Harkishan Memorial Public School. Most of them were students of 10th or 11th class. The workshop, conducted by peace activist Monica Wahi who had come to Rohtak from Delhi for this purpose, was quite successful, eliciting a positive response from the children who drew sketches of what they imagined Pakistan to be.

The drawings were a varied collection, depicting the children's imagined view of Pakistan - one showed a masjid and a gurudwara nearby (and I remembered the Shahi Masjid-Gurdwara-Fort complex in Lahore), another showed a village scene with womenfolk carrying pitchers of water from a well, and going about their household chores, a girl at Namaaz. One of the participants had made a "gulab jamun", saying that Pakistanis are as sweet as gulab jamuns but some people are making them 'khatta jamuns'; when asked who these people were, the reply was - those who engage in "Siyaasat". Still another showed farmers working in the fields, and one depicted a lady in a saree - the child who drew it said she imagines Pakistanis too perhaps wear sarees. One sketch showed India in the shape of a large candle burning brightly but Pakistan small and dimly lit, while another depicted Pakistan as a country with mountains and greenery and natural beauty.

The children were able to open up and discuss issues with each other, in the course of the discussion posing arguments and counter-arguments among themselves. Some were of the view that there must be just one religion in Pakistan - saying that they think so on the basis of what they are taught in school books. One of the participants said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be consulted about what they want.

It was a healthy discussion that took into its ambit different points of view but the consensus definitely was for India and Pakistan to be friends.

There was excitement about the webcam interaction. All the children were brought to an internet cafe from the school. After about an hour's efforts to establish contact, we had to shift to another place nearby for the teleconference - to the State Resource Centre, Haryana. Some efforts went into establishing the tele contact too and at one time it seemed that this too would not go through but then came the magical hour and the children's excitement was rekindled.

There were questions asked about what was famous about Hyderabad (bangles, we came to know), and what dress-styles was popular there. Talk also centered round cricket (Sehwag, Shoaib Akhtar, Tendulkar) and what the children liked eating etc.

Songs were sung from Hindi movies by children from both the countries. The conversation took off with the Shahrukh Khan starrer "Main Hoon Na" song "Tum se mil ke dil ka hai jo haal kya kahein, Ho gaya hai kaisa yeh kamaal kya kahein' - seemed as if the "kamaal" of the teleconference was being reflected in the song. When Saahil from India (Class 9th) talked to Mohammad Ali from Pakistan (Class 3), the latter came up with the innocent quip - "aap to bahut barhe hain!" and Saahil responded by saying - "Chalo main chota ho jaata hoon".

Aslam, a student of Class 3 in Pakistan, talking to Aashu from India asked if there were any asses in Rohtak! And he told Ashu that he had to carry a very large bag to the school. A little later he says, "India is our very good friend". He asked for some mantra to be recited and all the Indian children responded by reciting the Gayatri mantra. Later, Chanda from Pakistan in her own style recited the same mantra!

Arina from Pakistan asked Monica in India what message she would like to give in the backdrop of the expected Manmohan Singh -Musharraf meeting in New York. Monica responded by saying that they should talk to each other just they were now talking on the phone - talk of love and friendship and not of bitterness and animosity and the conversation ended with the song - "O mere yaar tu sadaa rahe salaamat, teri meri dosti rahe taa qayamat" sung by the Pakistani children.

The whole exercise was interspersed with clapping and joyous excitement. Except for some time when the telephonic contact seemed not going right, the children enjoyed it all even though there were moments when they did not know what to say to each other across the "telewaves".

Feedback from the three schools is good. The expense on lunch and the webcam has been shared by them. (Our friends in Pakistan took upon themselves the telephone expense as we did not have the ISD facility here in State Resource Centre). One of the schools provided its infrastructure for the workshop in the forenoon. The children have talked to their classmates and I learn that they are enthused to get into a similar exercise again with new participants willing to join in.

It is planned that the participants will relate their experiences in the Morning Assembly in their respective schools. Some children have promised to write down their experiences of the day. We plan to have a joint meeting of all those who participated in early October - not now as term exams are on these days. We hope to continue this exercise on a sustained basis.

Prof. Ramneek Mohan is based in Rohtak and is a senior peace activist and was part of the peace march from Delhi to Multan.

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