20

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

He who came from Pakistan

changed our perceptions

A
By Chandana Baruah

Unlike previous
batches, we
were privileged
to have a
Pakistani
classmate in
Pondicherry
University. And
he showed his
strength of
character by
refusing to let
the physical
attack on him
change his
perception of
India

li Hassan Raza, who came

from Lahore, Pakistan to
pursue his masters at
Pondicherry University
was my classmate at
the Unesco Madanjeet
Singh Institute of
South Asian Regional Cooperation
(UMISARC), inaugurated in 2012.
Our
batch
(2012-2014)
had students from all the
SAARC nations except the
Maldives. Unlike other departments, we were privileged to
have a Pakistani as our classmate the only one in the University.
It was amazing to see how
easily Ali bonded with the Indians, far more than with students from other nations. With
the passing weeks we became
closer to Ali, particularly after

We also realised that as

neighbours we face similar
problems ranging from
poverty to terrorism to environmental degradation. Our
similar social structure has
given birth to many common
heinous crimes like acid attacks, rape, and ethnic violence.
We became serious while
hearing about the gory details
of Pakistan, especially in the
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
province, during America's
drone attacks in the name of
counter terrorism. I and all my
classmates looked forward to
the elections in Pakistan as Ali
would update us about electoral proceedings there. He
gave his close friends a treat
at Pakistan's first successful
transition of power from one
elected government to the
next.

"We are South Asians": students from SAARC nations at Pondicherry

University.
the biriyani he cooked in his
hostel during Eid.
Our ethnic and linguistic
bonds and love for food made
us best buddies within a
month. The joy of watching an
India-Pakistan cricket match
with Ali swelled as we could
applaud together when the
players of either nation scored
a century. We celebrated the
Independence Days of both
countries together on campus.

All in all, as students of

South Asia and politics and international students, we were
incredibly fortunate to have
Ali as our classmate. Our
ideas about Pakistan and its
issues as a developing nation
broadened. We no longer got
provoked by media of either
of the nations, and we developed the habit of reading
more balanced publications
online.

Grown seeds of

Holi celebrations on campus: sharing cultures.

Seminars and classroom
discussions were enlivened by
the perceptions of a Pakistan
along with students from
other SAARC nations. Ali not
only changed the views of students in our class but also
other students of Pondicherry
University, thanks to his social, extrovert personality. He
never allowed teachers or students to get away with presenting misleading facts, and
would counter them effectively. Yet he was humble
enough to accept it when he
made a mistake and was corrected.
The dissertations we
ended up doing reflected our
changed perceptions about
Pakistan. I conducted a research on Pakistani women
with Ali's assistance, which
otherwise would have been
impossible given the difficulties of people-to-people contact.
Thanks to Ali, we learnt
many interesting things about
Pakistan, for example about
the ban on liquor sales, the
well-organised urban settlements, and many other aspects that the media tend to
not discuss. It was sad to
learn about Pakistan as as a
country which has been frequently militarised, with ordinary citizens becoming the
victim of politics. But it was

the same soil

Gaurav Chavan: Do you have any conviction in

"peace talks" between our two nations? Do you think
they can ever come up with a rational resolution towards peace? How much confidence do you have in
your government?
Ramsha Jahangir: There were hopes that the Foreign Secretaries' meeting (cancelled) would pave way
for the resumption of the
stalled peace process between the two nucleararmed countries. Meanwhile, one of the reasons
for hostile relations between our countries is
the lack of trade and economics
inter-dependency.
History tells us that
one of the most effective
tools for enhancing relations among neighbors
is to develop trade,
which eventually reduces hostilities. Customs clearance, dispute resolution and
testing are the key issues that have long
plagued business in Ram
sha Jahangir
the region. Over the
last decade, India and
Pakistan, the two largest economies
of South Asia, have succeeded in more than doubling
their per capita income. Both economies have also
managed to sustain a growth trajectory.
Gaurav: Why do you think there is a poor global
perception of Pakistan? Do you think the West portrays you correctly? What is it that you like about us,
about India?
Ramsha: It is human nature to accentuate the negatives rather than the positives. Pakistan is a state
under chaos, undoubtedly. But once you get an insight
to what ordinary people thinks of this nation, the perception drastically changes. August 14th is still a day
of a celebration; people want to exhibit patriotism. Nationalistic culture still prevails but fails to dominate
due to the unstructured and unbalanced rule perpetu-

ated by higher authorities.

I met a couple of foreigners over the past few
months. When I asked them why they came to
Pakistan and how they liked it here, as a Pakistani myself I was surprised at how enthusiastic they were to discover this hidden
treasure. They expressed immense
gratitude and admiration for this
country. Security
conditions aside,
SERIE
the culture, the people, the architecture, the traditional
values of Pakistan are still wonderful. I'd like to quote what the event
booker of SXSW had to say about
my country; "It is like travelling on
the sea, you float till you reach the
end... except there isn't any.''
India and Pakistan share the
same cultural values and no matter
h o w
m u c h
may one
deny it,
people
have similar
standards of living.
The first
thing
that
comes to my
mind when I
hear 'India' is the deep-rooted
culture it signifies. Pakistanis
perceive India as their traditional rival, but that does not
hinder the cultural exchange.
Women in Pakistan obsess
over Indian jewelry and
dresses. Chefs adapt cooking
techniques from India. The
media industry is strongly influenced by Bollywood. In fact,
you will be surprised to see how
often people confuse Hindi and Urdu. The language
spoken has become a mixture of the two!

THE FIRST STEP

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

Feedback, contributions, photos, letters:

Email: amankiasha@janggroup.com.pk
Fax: +92-21-3241-8343
Post: aman ki asha c/o The News,
I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi

Friendships keep wars at bay: Ali and Chandana (right) during the festival of Onam at Pondicherry University

Ali wearing a 'mund' (Kerala

dhoti): Onam festival
uplifting to hear about the
many interesting changes taking place for positive political,
social and economic growth.
Ali got us to understand
the need to let democracy prevail in Pakistan as it will bring
about liberty, equality and
growth in the nation and will
extend its relation with neighbours.
Having a Pakistani classmate was the greatest privilege that I had in Pondicherry
University that changed my
way of looking at Pakistan
and Pakistani people. It not

Gaurav Chavan and

Ramsha Jahangir
continue their online
cross-border discussion.
Three previous
installments have been
published in earlier
editions
India is equivalent to Pakistan to me. People here
often don't think of travelling to India for tourism
since they believe there isn't much of a difference
between the two. But I am drawn by the anthropological and historical implication of
the cultural sites and locations in India.
Taj Mahal is as famous in Pakistan as it
is worldwide. The Indian film industry
has played a huge role in promoting
tourism. I was surprised to know that
S 3 - I V Chennai
does not look like how it was
portrayed in Chennai Express. Otherwise we are
grown seeds of the same soil.
We don't see how interdependent we are on each
other. We subconsciously place reliance on our life and
style. India and Pakistan are separated geographically,
politically and economically, but socially the link persists. I'd ask Pakistanis to look around and contemplate
on your daily routine, what significance does India hold
in your life? If you failed to identify any... unsubscribe from your
TV operators now!
Do people in India share a
mutual opinion or is there anything Pakistan distinctively
holds? Do you often witness
Pakistanis in your land? How
does it feel to know one?
Gaurav: We do witness
Pakistanis around art and
photography as I mentioned
earlier in reference to
Mehlum. But the funny part
is, how do you identify them
as Pakistanis as they look
like us!
Read Gaurav's reply and a
continuation of this discussion in the next installment of the Conversations
an
av
Ch
Gaurav
series in Aman ki Asha.
Gaurav Chavan lives
in Mumbai; he is a copywriter by profession but prefers being a thinker. Ramsha Jahangir in Karachi is a Social Science student; she is
a thinker at will, a writer by choice.

Ali Hassan Raza: changing

minds
only opened my mind but also
the minds of many others who
were students, academicians
and of course media and
Pondicherry police who
recorded the presence of a
Pakistani in Pondicherry for
two years.
It was unfortunate that
Ali's last few days in
Pondicherry were marred by
an attack on him by three
unidentified men who broke

into his hostel room at about

3 am, just a few days before
he was to leave. His injuries,
thankfully not very serious,
were treated.
We were all sad that some
vested interests tried to fulfill
their agenda with this attack.
Pondicherry University has
been providing degrees to foreign students from around the
world. We believe that the
miscreants chosen Ali because an attack on the first
Pakistani student was bound
to create much sensation. The
incident drew everyone's attention - university authorities, media, and police.
The police questioned
around 700 people on and
around the campus. Not one
person had a negative word to
say against Ali. He was the
darling of all of us. He was a
friend of shopkeepers, security guards and even sweepers, to whom Ali always ex-

The writer has an MA in South Asian Studies, UMISARC,

Pondicherry University.
Email cbaruah19909@gmail.com

1,800 Sikh yatrees visit Pakistan

tended a helping hand in his

own little way.
We saw him off on his last
day at Pondicherry University.
He left with mixed feelings. To
my utter surprise he said, "I
love India and its people...
Three unknown people who
may not know me cannot
change my perception".
He was incredibly strong. I
saw the police officials laughing and chatting with him to
make him feel better. He
cleared the clouds of suspicion in the minds of many Indians. Today he still has many
friends in India, perhaps even
more than in Pakistan.
Thanks to Ali, I am convinced about the need for a
student exchange programme
between India and Pakistan.
When young minds from both
nations can meet, it will make
a positive difference and help
to reduce suspicion and
myths.

ome 1,800 Sikh pilgrims from India arrived in Pakistan last Friday on special trains to celebrate the 546th birth anniversary of
Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikh religion, at the Gurudwara
Panja Sahib in Hassanabdal.
Some older yatrees, born in what later became Pakistan, said that the
recent suicide attack at Wagah could not deter them from the chance to
visit the land of their birth.
Officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee and the district administration received the pilgrims. Strict security arrangements have been made for their safety. The
pilgrims observed the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November
6. Their ten-day itinerary includes pilgrimages at various Sikh sites
around Pakistan before returning to India on November 13.

Aman Chaupal in Pakistan

Gurudwara Janam Asthan Sri

Nankana Sahib: November 6, 2014.
Photo: Babar Jalandhari, Aman ki
Asha fb group

n a visit to Pakistan, journalist and news anchor Dr. Manju

Dagar and Mukesh Kataria, Programs Advisor for Yuvsatta
(an NGO empowering youth in Chandigarh, India) addressed eleventhgradestudentsanAmanChaupalinIslamabad
last week.
Aman Chaupal is an interactive session in which
someone from across the border interacts with students in
a school or college, aiming to counter stereotypes and misconceptions. This is an initiative of Aaghaz-e-Dosti, an
Indo-Pak peace and friendship initiative of The Catalyst,
Pakistan and Mission Bhartiyam, India. Ten Aman Chaupals
have been held in India; this was the first one in Pakistan.
The guests were delighted to see the multimedia
welcoming slide that read "Pakistan mai apka swagat hai"
in Devnagri (Hindi) script. The speakers shared their ex-

Aman Chaupal, Islamabad: Dr. Manju Dagar

and students
periences in Pakistan and responded to students' questions on issues ranging from Kashmir, human rights violations, and firing at the Line of Control, to youth activities and Bollywood.

he revival of Dastangoi in India has led to a revival of

this ancient form of Urdu storytelling in Pakistan as
well. An evening of Dastangoi, featuring writings by
Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, Muhammad Hussain Jah and
Ahmed Hussain Qamar, was presented at the National
College of Arts, Lahore, recently.
Organised by Olomopolo Media, the show was
based on two masterpieces of Urdu literature, the classic
Tilism-e-Hoshruba, featuring stories of myths and magic,
and Aab-e-Gum, a contemporary satire piece the first

The classic and the contemporary.

time that a contemporary piece was used in a Dastangoi
performance.

Dastangoi in Lahore

Sachin's Pakistan debut

achinTendulkarmadehisdebutforIndiaagainstPakistanin1989,butheactuallygothis
first taste of international cricket two years earlier, playing for a Pakistan team -against
India!DuringPakistan's tourofIndiain1987,Sachinwassentinasasubstitutefielderfor
Imran Khan's team during a festival match with India at Mumbai's Brabourne stadium.
Javed Miandad and Abdul Qadir left the field at lunch-time and Sachin was
asked to field. Imran deployed him at long-on and Kapil Dev hit a skier in his direction that Sachin could not reach. Recounting the incident in his recently released
book, 'Playing it My Way', Sachin comments that he could have taken the catch had
he been positioned at mid-on instead of long-on.
Sachin Tendulkar: autobiog"I don't know whether Imran Khan remembers this or has any idea that I once raphy 'Playing It My Way', with
fielded for his Pakistan team," he writes.
Nita Ambani. PTI photo
A peace initiative whose time has come...

Destination Peace: A commitment by the Jang Group, Geo and The Times of India Group to
create an enabling environment that brings the people of Pakistan and India closer together,
contributing to genuine and durable peace with honour between our countries.