Aman Ki Asha: The Indo-Pak Peace project

[ssheppard]

I picked up my newspaper on 1st January 2010, and guess what the first thing I read on the cover page was " LOVE PAKISTAN". I was surprised...and this forced me to read the entire page and four pages inside the paper dedicated to Pakistan,India and Love. As I read through the pages I admired the courage of Pakistani Group Jung and Times of India, who have jointly taken an Initiative to kick off a fabulous program in which similar news items and editorials and advertorials are running through the National Newspapers managed by both the groups.

I think its a wonderful initiative and I call for all members to join in by posting whatever they are coming across in their media that speaks about this peace Initiative.


I know people on both sides love their country...but I think its time to love each other.

I will keep on posting whatever is running in Indian newspapers and Channels and I request other members to contribute.

I request moderators to help keep this thread clean, and hate free.



ABOUT AMAN KI ASHA

The two leading media houses of India and Pakistan - The Times of India and the Jang Group - have come together to develop a stronger Track 2 in the diplomatic and cultural relations between India and Pakistan. "Aman ki Asha: Destination Peace" looks beyond the confines of a 62-year-old political boundary to the primal bonds that tie together the two peoples.

 

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I am posting the cover page of the Times Of India Daily paper: Dated 1, Jan 2010.

 

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PAge 2 from The Times of India Dated January 1st 2010:

 

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I think we should join this group on facebook:

Aman ki Asha Photos | Facebook

 

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Page 4: Times of India , Dated January 1st 2010.

 

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Watch: Big B(Amitabh Bachchan) appeals for peace

Aman ki Asha: A TOI-Jang initiative-News-Videos-The Times of India

 

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Page 2: Times of India 3rd January 2010:

 

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PAge 4: 3rd January 2010:

 

[RameeX Xaved]

what do you think, would these things ever materialise?
things like these have been done in past aswell but that all turned to dust.. aman or peace cant be achieved by a group of media personal shaking hands or some bollywood and lollywood greetin warmly on wahga border, specially between those countries who have decades of animosity against each other. the peace can only be achieved by solving the real issues that are the cause of this animosity that is kashmir, water, proving cross border terrorism allegations from both the sides..without solving these issues, if you think you can change the views of a common man in both the sides about each other, with all the due respect, you are living in a fool's paradise

 

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Page 5: Times of India , January 3rd, 2010.

 

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Top Indian, Pakistani media groups join hands for peace
Jang Group, Times of India launch Aman ki Asha initiative
By Gibran Peshimam

KARACHI: The turn of the decade brings with it a momentous shot in the arm to the moribund Indo-Pak peace process with the unveiling of a grand cross-border collaborative peace project. The initiative, titled Aman Ki Asha, promises to be a path-breaking collaboration between Pakistan’s Jang Group and Geo and India’s Times of India Group, the largest media groups on their respective sides of the border. It will look to inject impetus into the Indo-Pak dialogue in a manner that is unparalleled, on a scale that is unprecedented.

The project aims to provide the ultimate mutual platform to debate the major sticking points in the hitherto fickle peace dialogue on both sides of the border — whether it is Kashmir, the water dispute or security. The mission statement is unequivocal, declaring that the two groups commit themselves to a movement that will bring the people and civil institutions of the two countries closer together in fostering an honourable, genuine and durable peace.

While the ultimate aspirations of Aman Ki Asha are undoubtedly lofty — to resolve amicably all outstanding issues that serve as hurdles to peace and campaign for collaboration on economic, cultural issues through a media-led civil society movement — great care has been taken to figure in realistic and deliverable means to ensure the sustainability of this endeavour.

This commitment is calculated and structured. It seeks to deliver tangible results to push forward the peace process and bring to the fore the benefits of harmony, cooperation and trust that have eluded the people of the subcontinent for over six decades because of restrictive visa regimes and confrontational politics. Involving everything from cultural exchanges to policy debates, the joint undertaking is the product of detailed discussions and meticulous planning by both media groups.

The Aman Ki Asha campaign boasts an exciting feature in the form of a moving peace anthem composed by famous Indian lyricist and poet, Gulzar, which is recited by none other than Bollywood’s Amitabh Bachchan — a star, who, few will deny, is larger than life on both sides of the border. The anthem is sung by Pakistan’s Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and India’s Shankar Mahadevan, two of the subcontinent’s most celebrated vocalists.

Cultural and people-to-people ties will be strengthened through an array of entertainment programmes, ranging from music concerts to fashion shows featuring the best of both India and Pakistan. Academic and literary exchanges have been arranged to inspire strong intellectual links.

The project also plans to transcend glamour and glitz by cultivating tangible material cooperation. The heavyweights of the business communities on both sides of the border have been invited to exchange ideas and promote industrial and trade initiatives on a sustained basis in a unique annual economic conference to be held alternately in India and Pakistan. This conference promises tangible and concrete cooperation in vital economic sectors.

It doesn’t end there. Aman Ki Asha has also commissioned comprehensive cross-country surveys in India and Pakistan which will be published on a regular basis. For the first time in history, independent research agencies have carried out parallel surveys on both sides of the border to determine the people’s opinions on issues that matter, and will continue to do so to gauge popular opinion. This research, which has yielded astounding results, will not only serve as a yardstick to formulate policy, but also be used to measure the effect of the peace initiative.

The media groups have promised to continue to take the campaign forward on all fronts. They have established permanent secretariats to ensure the continuity necessary for success. All major stakeholders on both sides of the border have been taken on board ñ from government to businessmen, from the literati to the glitterati.

Clear-cut goals have been identified, targets have been set and a mission statement hammered out. The campaign has been launched. As of the first day of the new decade, Aman Ki Asha is all systems go. And the destination is peace.

http://e.thenews.com.pk/1-1-2010/page1.asp#;

 

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One and a half billion people just want peace
By Mohammad Malick

The two nations have repeatedly gone to war in the past. Their governments continue sabre rattling and spewing bellicose rhetoric. But identical nationwide opinion surveys conducted by the Jang Group and the Times of India Group in India and Pakistan show that a majority of the billion and a half people of the sub-continent want to live as peaceful and friendly neighbours and share the same humane goals like any other civilised polity; economic prosperity for all, education for the youth, health for the needy, absence of violence and elimination of existential threats.

In Pakistan, 72 per cent of the respondents desired “peaceful and friendly relations with India” whereas 60 per cent Indians were hopeful of such an eventuality. This relative lesser percentage may be owing to the fact that presently 88 per cent of Indians consider Pakistan as a high/moderate threat to India’s well being. In contrast, 72 per cent Pakistanis perceive India as a high/moderate threat. The 88 per cent threat perception notwithstanding, it is heartening to note, however, that over 59 per cent of Indians think that a peaceful relationship would be established with Pakistan within their lifetime, an optimism shared by 64 percent Pakistanis.

While vested interests on both sides may have led the people to believe that every Pakistani wakes up paranoid with India and that every Indian goes to bed fretting over the next deadly Pakistani move, statistics show otherwise. Half the people polled in India thought about Pakistan “sometimes”, while only 16 per cent thought about us in a more focused manner. As for Pakistanis, 32 per cent appeared to be seriously concerned over the state of our bilateral relations. Hardly the figures for two peoples supposedly obsessed with each other’s ultimate annihilation, would not you agree?

The adverse ramifications of less than friendly relations too have not been lost on either side. Over half the Indian nation feels that the tense situation has hampered both social and economic development within India itself. This feeling is even greater in Pakistan where 71 per cent people blame lack of social development on this cold war.

But having said that, both the people appear to be greater believers in the art-of-possible than their ruling dispensations. The governments stated positions notwithstanding, the priorities of both nations appear to be clear and positive. Almost three-fourths of the people interviewed on both sides of the border favoured increased business links and were convinced that such a commercial build-up could be one of the best defences against an army build-up between the two erstwhile jittery neighbours. In a significant revelation, 75 per cent of Indians want a settlement of the Kashmir issue which was recognised as a major impediment to normalisation of relations. On this side, the number was understandably higher at 84 per cent. What did not come as any surprise, however, was that cricket reigned supreme. In a region where cricket is god, 93 per cent of Indians viewed it as an important means to be utilised in the peace building process. And Pakistanis too seem to agree to this assessment.

Surveys indicate that the cohabitants of the subcontinent no longer favour the long held belief that at times peace stands on the other side of the war, for many extraordinary routes to destination peace were offered by the ordinary Indians and Pakistanis. Over half the people on both sides of the divide wanted greater people-to-people interaction with almost three-fourths believing that this interaction will dispel ‘myths’ and could lay a solid foundation for a lasting peace. In a sharp contrast, however, relations between the two governments were deemed as outright hostile by the people. Over half the people believed that greater cultural exchanges, with movies bearing the greatest load of expectations, could smooth a lot of ruffled feathers and ease down tensions. There were strong proponents on both sides, again in a majority, arguing for increased tourism including medical-tourism while a good 73 per cent rightly viewed close cooperation in education and student exchanges as another key peace building element.

That said, however, the survey results also betray the adverse impact of long held beliefs and biases, both real and imaginary, which continue to retard various peace building initiatives. While the two nations undisputedly crave peace, mutual suspicions and concerns remain a grim reality posing difficult but negotiable roadblocks on this road to peace. It is worrying indeed that when asked what at once came to their mind when the word Pakistan was mentioned, 78 per cent responded “terror”. Over half of these people attributed this perception to the recent incidents like the Mumbai attack. Over 40 per cent of Indians also feel Pakistan is responsible for promoting extremist violence. But at the same time, 41 per cent blame it on a combination of Pakistan and home-grown factors like Maoists etc. Pakistani nation too has its own fair share of fears. Almost three-thirds are convinced of Indian involvement in extremist violence within Pakistan with 31 per cent blaming it on a US-India nexus. In a sharp departure from the Indian perspective, however, when Pakistanis were asked about the first thing that came to their minds at the mention of word India, 64 per cent responded “Kashmir”. All is not lost indeed, yet suspicion runs nearly as strongly as the desire to make peace.

The surveys show that a serious, sincere and concerted effort is required to attain a peaceful equation between the two countries and it was encouraging to see that when asked to opine on possible milestones in this peace making process, invariably both nations favoured positive options like greater cooperation, rage linkups, improving internal defences and mechanisms, people-to-people contact and neither side showed any inclination towards seeking conflict-oriented resolutions. The tactics may vary somewhat but it is clear that strategically South Asia has voted in favour of making peace.

http://e.thenews.com.pk/tp_details.asp?id=26396

 

[vsdoc]

It was not a nice start to the Sunday to read that article on Lahori food man ..... especially since my only New Year resolution has been to get back to my college/pre-marriage weight by the time my next birthday rolls in

Guys, what is haleem?

Cheers, Doc

 

[ssheppard]

It was not a nice start to the Sunday to read that article on Lahori food man ..... especially since my only New Year resolution has been to get back to my college/pre-marriage weight by the time my next birthday rolls in

Guys, what is haleem?

Cheers, Doc

Haleem is a combination of some Pulse and Mutton cooked along with some spices...and pure Ghee...... tastes good if you have it with good ...biryani

 

[Hari]

Hi , You might have noticed another thread going here

http://www.defence.pk/forums/strategic-geopolitical-issues/43127-aman-ke-asha-cornerstone-new-indian-cold-start-strategy.htm