The march is now on its fifth day and for the marchers and organizers it has been five days of energizing public participation.

For what do you feel when policemen aiding security and traffic during the march want to join it? When one sub-inspector is willing to take leave, even willing to consider getting a series of no-objection notes through serpentine processes that define Indian bureaucracy so that he can go to Pakistan taking the message of peace?

What do you feel when hundreds of people – people from villages and towns along the route of the march passing through the heartland of north India – sign a petition supporting a campaign for peace between India and Pakistan, a campaign that explicitly states that
a. All disputes between India and Pakistan – including Kashmir – must be resolved through dialogue between the two countries and that Kashmiris should have a voice in resolving the future of Kashmir
b. Denuclearization must occur in India and Pakistan and landmines must be removed. In addition, defense budgets must be cut back and the money should be spent on social welfare programs for the poor in both countries.
c. Steps must be taken to allow for easier mobility of people between India and Pakistan. If possible, governments should consider the removal of visa constraints for travel between the two nations.

The signature campaign has also become a means of some fundraising with every signatory being asked for at least Re 1. The march has collected between Rs 500 to Rs 1300 every day in the last five days.

The biggest boost for organizers and participants of the march came with the news that the Indian government had agreed to grant permission to 21 out of 41 Pakistani applicants who wanted to join the march. Organizers were working out details of how best Pakistani participants could come through Wagah and join the march.

Through out the march, the participants had been put up in places of worship – in gurudwaras, temples and mosques – and had been welcomed with great warmth so far. In Patti Kalyan, near Sonepat, the entire village turned out to welcome the marchers. Subsequently many members of the 12000 people who live in the village spoke of the times of partition, of the violence, of the sorrow and pain, of visits from Muslim families who had moved to Pakistan. They pointed out sites of massacres and wells that had been filled with bodies and said that it is important that we find ways to have ties of friendship even though we are separate countries today.

In Shiva – another small village – they had been similarly received and members of the village had long discussions with the community. In Sonepat, the organizing community had held a reception to honor the marchers.

In the coming days, the marchers will meet students in high schools and colleges. In Sonepat, the marchers will meet students of a local high school. The meeting at Kurukshetra is organized at the local university.

The marchers see the march as a herald – a herald that times are changing and the world is moving on and that we, the people of India and Pakistan need to find a way that there will be peace in our lands, that our children will not continue to live in a land made insecure by the gloom of a possible war, that our governments will find the will to evolve processes to bring peace to our land. With increased coverage of this march by such national papers and magazines as “The News” from Pakistan and “Frontline” in India, this march is certainly achieving some of that.

- as told to Sanat Mohanty by Sandeep Pandey.

Related Links
Day 2 – Nizamuddin to Kingsway Camp
Day 1 – The Marchers Embark
Route of Peace March
South Asian communities to organize peace events
Pakistani Organization Working for Needs of Indian Prisoners