Petition Urging Indians, Pakistanis to Reject Division and Hate Gets Over 5,500 Signatures
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Petition Urging Indians, Pakistanis to Reject Division and Hate Gets Over 5,500 Signatures
The Wire Staff
5 minutes ago
Signed by people including Jean Dreze and Pervez Hoodbhoy, the petition also opposed weaponising shared resources and bilateral pacts.
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Representative image. Photo: Artem Podrez/Pexels
New Delhi: A petition that calls for the people of India and Pakistan to reject divisive ideologies and advocating dialogue over hate and revenge has garnered over 5,500 signatures since it was floated three days ago on change.org.
Signed by prominent individuals including filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, Pakistani physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy, Indian economist Jean Dreze and Nepali publisher Kanak Mani Dixit, the petition condemned violent extremism and terrorism as well as 'the targeting of unarmed civilians for any reason including as a means to achieve political ends'.
Noting that 'communal and faith-based politics' being amplified by the media and social media on either side was creating 'the illusion of a consensus for war', it added that this sentiment has 'severely vitiated the political climate in Southasia [sic]'.
'Sustainable peace requires a collective rejection of such divisive ideologies by the people of the region,' said the petition posted by the Southasia Peace Action Network, which went on to urge Indians and Pakistanis to 'hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or action that feeds war hysteria'.
It also opposed attempts to weaponise shared natural resources or bilateral agreements such as under the Indus Waters Treaty or the Simla Agreement.
India and Pakistan engaged in a military stand-off that killed civilians as well as security personnel over the last week. This followed India's conducting missile strikes against 'terrorist infrastructure' in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and in Pakistan, which New Delhi said was retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Both sides agreed to cease fighting on Saturday afternoon.
The change.org petition has been reproduced in full below.
§
The Issue
We, peace activists from India, Pakistan and elsewhere, categorically condemn every form of violent extremism and terrorism.
We particularly condemn the targeting of unarmed civilians, for any reason, including as a means to achieve political ends.
This cycle must end for peace to prevail. Communal and faith-based politics feeding frenzy on both sides, amplified by media and social media, gives the illusion of a consensus for war.
This loud warmongering puts tremendous pressure on governments and armed forces on both sides, as well as inciting the public. It has severely vitiated the political climate in Southasia*, fostering mistrust among citizens.
Sustainable peace requires a collective rejection of such divisive ideologies by the people of the region.
India and Pakistan must behave responsibly. Any war between these two nuclear-armed nations would be disastrous. As history shows, it is ordinary citizens who suffer the most in conflict, especially women, children, minorities, the elderly, and other vulnerable communities forced to prove their patriotism.
We therefore urge the people of India and Pakistan to hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or action that feeds war hysteria.
We strongly oppose any attempts to weaponize shared natural resources or historic bilateral agreements. Suspending longstanding agreements like the Indus Water Treaty (1960) or like the Shimla Accord (1972) would erode the basic framework of legality and civility in bilateral relations.
We call on all those who believe that peace, not war, is the way forward, to speak out against the politics of hate, violence, and vengeance, and to stand up for dialogue, cooperation, and a shared future of peace and co-existence.
* Why Southasia as one word? Because history, geography and shared struggles say so.
Initial signatories:
Dr. A.H. Nayyar, physicist, Lahore
Beena Sarwar, Journalist, filmmaker, Boston / Karachi
Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physicist, Islamabad
Saeeda Diep, activist, Lahore
Tahira Abdullah, activist, Islamabad
Sheema Kermani, Cultural activist, Karachi
Dr. Riaz Sheikh, Historian, Karachi
M. Tahseen, Activist, Lahore
Anand Patwardhan, Filmmaker, Mumbai
Lalita Ramdas, educationist, Hyderabad, Telangana
Dr. Sandeep Pandey, activist, Lucknow
Feroze Mithiborwala, Writer, Social Activist, Mumbai, India
Anuradha Bhasin, journalist, Jammu
Kanak Mani Dixit, Journalist, Kathmandu
Arundhati Dhuru, Activist, Lucknow
Khawar Mumtaz, Activist, Lahore
Laxmi Murthy, Journalist, Bangalore
Dr. Syeda Hameed, activist, Delhi
Asad Faruqi, Artist/Filmmaker, Karachi / Brooklyn, NY
Badre Alam, Social and political activist, Siddharth Nagar, Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh
Dilip D'Souza, writer, Bombay
Pragyan Srivastava, Journalist, Boston/Delhi
Ram Puniyani, Peace worker, Mumbai
Sameera Khan, Journalist/Researcher, Mumbai
Col. Pavan Nair, Indian citizen, Pune
Siraj Khan, Board Chair, Society for Youth Boston
Marvi Sirmed, journalist/peace activist (Pakistani-Washington, D.C.)
Vinod Mubayi, Co-editor Insaf Bulletin, New York
Vishal Sharma, Researcher/Peace Activist, Coventry
Dolores Chew, College professor, Montreal
Dr. Jatinder Maan, Punjab
Dr. A. Giridhar Rao, World Esperanto Association
Prabir, Doctor, West Bengal
Sandhya Gokhale, feminist activist, Mumbai
Ms. Sharmeela de Vas, Mumbai
Sneha Jayaraj, Attorney, New York City / Kerala
Sushovan Dhar, Activist, Kolkata
Suraj Budathoki, New Hampshire State Representative, Manchester NH
Shahzad Irshad, Author, Oxford/Manchester
Verdah Kazi, Psychotherapist, Brooklyn/Karachi
Varsha, teacher, civic society activist, bengaluru
Himanshu Gupta, Child protection Social Worker, Ferozepur
Guddi S L, Social Political Activist, Mumbai
Satya Talwar, Retired professor, Delhi
Rajashri Dasgupta, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
Bobby Abraham, Creator, Kerala
Sushil Khanna, Professor (Retd) IIM Calcutta, Kolkata
Rajesh Ramakrishnan, Independent researcher and activist, Chennai
Purnesh Joshi, Software Engineer, Mumbai/Pune
Majid nasrullah, Musician, Bangalore
SandhyaRoy, Journalist, India
Vishal, Engineer, Mumbai
Samita Kaur, Environmentalist, Punjab
Harsh Kapoor, Editor, Mainstream, Montpellier
Susan, Retired, Bangalore
Jyothi, Art facilitator, Chennai
Nityanand Jayaraman, journalist/social activist, Chennai
Sandhya Srinivasan, Journalist / researcher, Mumbai
Sagari Ramdas, Veterinary Scientist, Hyderabad, India
Dr Ashok Kumar Somal, Retired IFS officer, Kangra HP
SUNIL MICHAEL CALEB, Professor, KOLKATA
Ms Foqia Sadiq Khan, Social Scientist, Islamabad
Navin, Independent, Hyderabad
V.Priya, Community facilitator, Tirupathi
Rajeev Raj R, Independent Film maker, New Delhi
Prajit Basu, Hyderabad
Ansloyd Gomes, Artist, Goa/London
Siddhartha Mitra, Programmer NYC
Aditya P, Designer, Pune
Abhayraj Naik, Educator and Researcher, Bengaluru / Sri City
John D'Souza, Consultant, Mumbai
Ajin K Thomas, Schoolteacher, Chennai
Ishan A., Ecologist, Goa
John Dayal, Writer, Delhi
Sadeqa Siddiqui, Activist, Montreal .
Swathi, PhD scholar, Bengaluru
SUMAN BASU, Teacher, Kolkata
Pooja Nirala, Labour Rights Activist, Guwahati
Stella James, Researcher, Bengaluru
Apoorva Kulkarni, Scientist/ Artist, Mumbai/ Oxford
Niya Tapo, Indigenous Climate researcher, Arunachal Pradesh, Roing
Manish Kumar, Student, Araria
Mohammed Ahmed Khan, Social activist, Lucknow
Sehjo singh, Climate Convener, Delhi/Udaipur
Philip Pinto, Brother, Chandigarh
Pradeep Ghosh, Social Worker, Bhopal
Bhagwan Awaghade, Core member Rashtriya Dharmnirpekshta Aandolan and Ambedkarite propagating constitutional human values, Satara
Ela Gandhi, Retired Social worker/ political activist, Durban South Africa
Shubhranshu Choudhary, Journalist, Delhi
Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai
Mubashira Patel, Student, Intern, Mumbai
Amjad M Syed, Director sales and operations, Bangalore
Shweta Damle, Peace Activist, Mumbai
Tripta Batra, Creative Educator; Writer, Delhi NCR
Soumya Dutta, Educator – Researcher – Knowledge activist
Delhi NCR
Madhavi Swamy-Peters, Rural livelihoods, Kashmir/ Ladakh/ Bangalore
Rahul Banerjee, Social Activist, Indore
Ravinder Pal Singh, Academic Activist, Gurugram
harshad tayade, Student of International Relations, Mumbai
Ammu Abraham, Activist, on women's rights and civil liberties,
Mumbai
Smita Ramanathan, Freelancer, Thrissur
GOVARDHAN RAO PANCHINENI, Businessman, Hyderabad
Nityanand Jayaraman, Journalist/social activist, Chennai
Amna Yameen, Researcher/Activist, Islamabad and Hamilton (NZ)
Abhishek Taneja, Sustainability Promoter, Solan
Nishtha Jain, Filmmaker, Mumbai
Guru, Concerned Citizen, Bengaluru
Krithika, Psychologist / Activist, Bangalore
Jugal Hatila, कृषि, Nokha ( bikaner)
Komal, Activist, Maharashtra
Sangeetha, self employed, Mysore
Mohammad Imran, Retired, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA
Rutuja, I/O psychologist, Pune
Saravanan V., Ph.D. Student, New Delhi
Rukmini Iyer, Peacebuilder, Mumbai, India
Nasreen Rehman, peace activist/historian, Cambridge UK'
Ashka Naik, Researcher/Activist, Boston/India
And others.
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