There are enough reasons for establishing peace between India and Pakistan. But the building blocks for this process are constantly being questioned. Does Kashmir need to be solved? Are more confidence building measures necessary? What?

Perhaps the most important answer to that question presented itself a few kilometers away from the Wagah border. A van pulled over in front of the marchers. A rather amiable middle aged man wearing shorts, along with two other younger men began to distribute pamphlets to the marchers. “We are interested in the same thing”, the middle aged man said. The pamphlets heralded the coming of ‘Akhand Bharat’. Some guru, he claimed, had said that there will be a ‘United India’.

The marchers reacted in a variety of ways. Some took the pamphlets – in fact some took multiple copies. Others politely refused. Yet others began to scold the many who had taken pamphlets, asking them to return it. One member of a local political party who was visiting the march began to loudly abuse this man. At that point, Faisal, who was one of the marchers, defended the right of expression of the man.

The group wanting to ask this gentleman the basis of his views found out that he spoke little but in Oriya. So I was promptly delegated to have a conversation with him. I asked him how he would ensure people from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Pakistan would all agree to be part of this ‘United India’. Would he suggest that violence be used to achieve this? What about the rights of these people? The man only shrugged, saying his guru had said so.

I asked whether he knew that certain Christian groups claim that Christianity will soon be ascendant on the entire world. That some Jewish and some Islamic groups also claim the same. If indeed all these groups went ahead and tried to achieve such ascendancy, would there not be major war? Is such ascendancy possible? Again, the man only shrugged, saying his guru had said so.

At this point, with any conversation becoming impossible, we parted on polite terms. However, an important brick in establishing peace had been presented quite strongly – the absolute need to respect and recognize the entity of both nations. Given the world of nation states, peace can only be based on such recognition, not on some subliminal drive for dominance. Increased mobility across borders cannot imply that the nation, defined by its borders, simply disappears.

Another brick necessary for the establishment of peace presented itself in a school in Jandiala Guru, about 30 KM from Amritsar.

In a number of places, organizing committees would present the marchers with soft drinks – Coke or Pepsi products. With a large number of anti Coke, anti Pepsi people involved in the march, these bottles were usually politely refused. The organizers usually consumed them. In some places, as in this school in Jandiala Guru, the group organized a demonstration for the benefit of the students to show why Coke and Pepsi should not be consumed. This was after our Pakistani friends had been specially welcomed, and there had been an hour long discussion on the need for peace between India and Pakistan, the similarities between our cultures, and our people, and expressions of our affection and respect for each other.

At the end of the demonstrations on Coke, one of the marchers, and leader of the Anti Coke movement in UP, Nandlal Master asked the children whether Coke was a good thing or a bad thing. Every one answered that it was a bad thing and they would not drink Coke or Pepsi again. Nandlal asked the children whether they knew where Coke came from. There was some quiet as the children were not quite sure. Then a few voices piped up, saying Pakistan. Somehow, despite this short discussion, despite the presence of our Pakistani guests, it was difficult to dispel the notion that bad things came from Pakistan.

It was not the fault of the children. And as one of our Pakistani friends, Akbar Saab, put it – it would have been similar in Pakistan. Years of cultural stereotypes that have demonized our neighbors will have to be resolved. And this cannot happen overnight. The recognition of the other as human – capable of love, of nobility, without horns, and without an all consuming intention and drive to harm us – is necessary to establish peace. Much effort will have to be focused on this aspect.

Such a recognition has significant impact within both nations as well – impact that affects the peace process. In India, any conversation on peace with Pakistan has questions of communalism lurking in the background. In Pakistan, similarly, the rights of minorities and their place in society have to be addressed. Not surprisingly, the question of religion, and the space of communities defined by religious perspectives, took an important role in the discussions among the Indian and Pakistani marchers. I say among, rather than between, because it was a discussion across national divides, or even religious divides. While these discussions did not resolve the significance (or the lack) of religion in our societies, the need for democratic processes to ensure the rights and voices of the majority and the minority was unequivocally emphasized. Democracy has a central role in peace – not just as a nominal or formal means of running a nation but also in praxis.

As the march continued, it was quite clear in the mind of most involved that this was only the beginning of a process. Subsequent processes, forward looking strategies, will have to be designed to formulate these building blocks of peace. Whether it is the issue of Kashmir, or cross border terrorism, empowering these building blocks will be necessary for evolution of sustained solutions for peace.

Sanat Mohanty joined the March during the last phase of the Indian leg to the Wagah border

Related Links
Reasons for a Peace March
Route of Peace March
Events Planned Across the US in Solidarity with March
Pakistani Organization Working for Needs of Indian Prisoners