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INTERNATIONAL

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Since my father is from Pakistan and my mother is from India, when I see this kind of hatred I feel as if I belong to No Mans Land as depicted in Sadat Hasan Mantos Toba Tek Singh
ing on the ground and then giving a high kick. It was quite incredible each time they raised their legs they almost hit their heads! Then followed a peculiar ritual almost like a dance goosestepping, then a series of jerky head and shoulder movements full of aggression. At regular intervals slogans were raised. As one side shouted Zindabad (Long Live) the other side would shout Murdabad (Death to) in reaction. The gates were opened, the flags of both countries were lowered for the day and after a brief handshake, the gates were closed. I found the whole ceremony quite absurd. The soldiers looked like roosters dressed on one side in brown and red and the other side in black and white, with plumbed turbans. Their strutting and preening made me want to laugh. However it was not really funny since the ritual was also the assertion of territorial control and power, and the body movements conveyed aggressive threats. Though the aggression has been toned down (earlier the soldiers showed clenched fists and made contemptuous gestures with their thumbs), we could see that thousands of people (it is estimated that 15,000 come everyday to witness this ceremony from both sides) were being instigated into hatred and competition. It is ironic that this ceremony is actually planned by both sides and they practice together -- yet the message that is sent is of war and enmity. 11pm -12am: In contrast to the cacophony of the evening, the border was quiet as 50 peace activists walked towards the gates with candles, shouting slogans of peace and friendship -- PakHind awaam dosti zindabad (Long live Pakistan India peoples friendship), Jung nahi aman chahye, bomb nahiN roti chahye (We Above: The Wagah flag-lowering ceremony: playing to the gallery; Below: Peace activists light candles of hope at the border. dont want war, we want peace; we dont want bombs, we want food). The flickering candles placed on the gates sent out rays of hope in the dark. This vigil has been organised for the last 15 years by well-known journalist Kuldeep Nayar. This year it was special due to a peace caravan organised simultaneously from Mumbai to Wagah in India, and Karachi to Wagah in Pakistan by Dr. Sandeep Pandey (the social activist and Magsaysay award winner)

Saurab Chhachhi

t is 64 years since the Radcliffe line cut through the village of Wagah in Punjab, the east going to India and the west to Pakistan. Events at the Wagah border reflect the tensions and hostility since partition as well as the aspirations of ordinary people for peace and friendship. On August 14-15, 2010, I was at the Wagah border where I witnessed two ceremonies: the official Beating of the Retreat (lowering of the flags) by the Indian BSF (Border Security Force) and the Pakistani Rangers which is held everyday since 1959 and the midnight candlelight vigil held every August 14-15 by peace activists from both sides.

5pm-7pm: At dusk I sat down in the front row of the stands facing two gates - the side I was on said INDIA and the gate on the other side said PAKISTAN. On the Pakistani side loudspeakers were blaring with patriotic songs and people were waving huge flags and dancing to mark their independence day. On the Indian side a group of students were performing a play (it was basically a man shouting at the top of his voice) interspersed with patriotic songs. Finally the bugle rang and the parade began on both sides, synchronised with each other. Two women (for the first time this year) marched at a fast pace across and saluted the Commander, positioning themselves at the corner of the Gate. They were followed by six-feet tall border guards speed-marching with extended arms, stamp-

Changes in the Wagah ceremony

he announcement that both sides had agreed to tone down the aggression in the Wagah ceremony was widely welcomed, although there were those who expressed regret that the show would no longer be as sensationalist. According to the new agreement, soldiers would reduce the aggression of their gestures and smile rather than maintain belligerent facial expressions. Later, Pakistan rangers withdrew the announcement, saying that there was some confusion about this announcement; they would do the handshake but make no other compromise on the other movements. Furthermore, Is all this aggression and display of jingoism really necessary? Brig. (rtd) Rao Abid Hamid, a retired army officer who supports peace between India and Pakistan says: s The ceremony conducted on both sides of the border is contrary to the accepted norms and military drill and etiquette. s It portrays the participating troops in a negative light and shows them as delinquent and ruthless. This is a far cry from being disciplined, well-trained, honourable and chivalrous, which should be the hallmark of any good army. s It quite unnecessarily adds yet another unfortunate dimension to the normally raging fire of hate and mistrust ignited by the interested quarters. s The exaggerated foot stomping, furious swing of arms and distortion of facial expressions are major features of this contrived ceremony. It has reportedly led to mild-to-severe damage to joints and the knees of the troops participating in this ugly and disquieting display by representatives of two of the worlds supposedly finest armies. rector), Aitzaz Ahsan and Iqbal Haider (leaders of the lawyers and human rights movement in Pakistan) and Kamla Bhasin (a well known Indian feminist/songwriter who was one of the first to build bridges between Indian and Pakistani women). It was very moving to hear

from India and my father Karamat Ali (founder of the Pakistan Peace Coalition) among others. They included Mahesh Bhatt (the Bollywood film di-

Iqbal Haiders emotional appeal as he repeated in front of the gates: Darwaza khol do, logoN ko milne do (open the gates, let the people meet). However the people from the Pakistani side were unfortunately not allowed to come across the border this year. The guards who had been performing the parade earlier were also there. Ironically when we asked them about the India-Pakistan situation, they said that they wanted the conflict to end so we could live like normal neighbours. As part of this vigil thousands of people had gathered at Attari (a nearby village) under a tent where singers, artists and poets from both countries performed around themes of peace between the two countries. Inspiration for hope: Although I had seen the beating of the retreat in 2001 (when I was eight) -- from the Pakistani side -- I found the experience this time very disturbing, as I now understood its meaning and implication. I found it quite frightening the way people could show so much hatred and animosity towards one another and how the ridiculously choreographed ceremony orchestrated a sense of jingoistic nationalism. Since my father is from Pakistan and my mother is from India, when I see this kind of hatred I feel as if I belong to No Mans Land (the sliver of earth between the gates) as depicted in Sadat Hasan Mantos brilliant story Toba Tek Singh. At the same time I think that there is great inspiration and hope in the growing peace movement and initiatives like the peace caravan where activists planted peepal trees (symbolising wisdom and peace) along the border in soil mixed from both countries this year. As these peepal trees, under which Buddha, the expression of compassion and ahimsa (non violence) achieved enlightenment, grow, I believe and hope that we Indians and Pakistanis can follow in his footsteps. A shorter version of this was printed in the writers school magazine.

The fishermens woes

By Sheher Bano

ut at sea and out of touch with their families for 10-15 days at a time, the fishermen who eke out a precarious living along the coastal area between Pakistan and India risk not only storms at sea, which they can usually weather, but arrest by border forces of the other country that land them in prisons across the border perhaps for years. The maritime border security agencies are always on the lookout to pounce on them for violating the border, which is unclear and unmarked, largely due to the as yet unresolved Sir Creek boundaries. The arrested fishermen are unable to inform their families who suffer great uncertainty about their fate. They usually have no consular access until they have served their sentences and are due to be released. Only rarely are civil society organisations or media able to meet them. Due to this inaccessibility, there is no comprehensive study on the situation of these fishermen. While researching this issue in 2008 for the Pakistan Institute of Labour, Education and Research (Piler), I talked to ten of the 473 Indian fishermen in Pakistani prisons Landhi and Malir District Jails, and the Youthful Offenders Jail, Central Jail, Karachi. Little has changed since then, although the men I spoke to have since returned home safely. Fear, dejection, hopelessness and misery are writ large on their faces, traumatised by being away from home and their loved ones. As one of

Pakistan and India need to adopt political and moral way of resolving their political controversy including a different policy for fishermen not involved in criminal activities so they can be released immediately after necessary interrogation
two of the ten fishermen I spoke to had taken up work as labourers on fishing boats due to unemployment in other sectors. For the other eight fishing ran in the family. Given the lack of a clear maritime boundary, they often cant tell when they have crossed the border. They said that the border forces of both sides purposely allow them to cross the boundaries in order to make these arrests. If our border security forces warn us when we are heading into dangerous territory, no arrest would ever take place, said one fisherman. Nine out of the ten denied that they had violated the border, while one admitted to having mistakenly crossed the border into Pakistani territory. They said they had been arrested at night, while their nets were in the sea and they were asleep. Sometimes the arrested fishermen are accused of spying for India. This charge is usually unfounded, but fishermen on both sides of the border, with age-old ties, may well pass on innocuous messages or exchange items like coconut, dry milk and gur (brown sugar). Sometimes they are arrested after assurances by fishermen from the other country that there are no patrolling parties around. The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum has called for the two governments to resolve their differences and adopt a different policy for the fishermen so that those not involved in any criminal activities may be released immediately after necessary interrogation.

A selection of some books that we believe further the cause of peace and understanding between Pakistan and India

Curfewed Night By Basharat Peer Random House Publishers India Pvt. Ltd., 2008

Fishermen from both sides of the border suffer due to tensions between the governments them said, Had any of the politicians from both sides of the border been detained for a single day in jail in the conditions in which we are living, probably they would have understood our ordeal. I am sure they cannot endure this. But who else is there to tell them about our misery? My interaction was enough to gauge the ordeal and emotional trauma they underwent during their detention in Pakistan. Most appreciated the Pakistani authorities, which provided them with food, clothing, education and health facilities and allowed them to practice their faiths -the Deputy Jailer had even given

Profile of fisherman detained in district Jail, Malir (2008)

S. Education Age Salary Marital No (INR) Status Accept Fishing Job at Dependent Border family violation experience members charges No No No No No No No No No Yes Labour Agriculture One year 14 years 15-20 years 04 years 08 years 18 years 10 years 04 years Labour Labour Labour Labour Captain Captain Khalasi Captain Labour Labour 08 13 06 05 05 09 05 10 03 05

The families suffer

hen fishermen -- typically the main bread earners for their families -- are arrested and incarcerated in the other country, not only they, but their families back home, suffer immensely. Their families depend upon them not only for their daily bread and butter but also for childrens education, dowries for sisters or daughters, or to look after old or ill parents who were unable to earn. Hailing mostly from Diu in Indias Gujarat District, the ages of those I talked to ranged between 19-39 years, with education levels from complete illiteracy to the intermediate level. Eight were married with children while two were unmarried. Between 8-13 family members were directly dependent on their earnings (see table). They worried about how their families back home are able to manage. They can only hope that immediate or extended families help out, because they get no news apart from occasional letters dispatched, or telephone calls made, through the good offices of the relatives of their fellow Pakistani prisoners. They feared that their families may have had to take loans with interest, resulting in ever-increasing amounts to be repaid. Some of them hear that their families had to take children out of school, like *Kumars sister and *Prems brother who had also started working to help make ends meet. *Vikrams wife had taken up work as a farm labourer, earning Rs. 50 per day. His children were studying in government schools, where education till 7th grade was free. With *Vrisag and his brother both in Pakistani prisons, his family had lost two bread earners. Vrisags wife was earning a meagre Rs 1,500 a month making and selling flower garlands but had taken a loan to support their two sons and two daughters. For one year the loan is given at 25 percent interest, which increases to 50 percent the next year and the rate keeps on rising, he said. (*Not their real names) SB

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Inter Illiterate Inter Illiterate Illiterate Inter Matric Illiterate 6th grade 8th grade

32 32 27 25 35 39 30 38 24 19

4000 5,500 6,500 3000 10,000 10,000 3,500 10,000 8,500 2,500

Married Married Married Married Married Married Married Married Single Single

The Great Divide: India and Pakistan (Hardback, 360 pages) India International Centre Quarterly, edited By Ira Pande Harper Collins, India, 2009

Money money money

ostly, fishermen on both sides venture into uncertain areas under pressure from the fishing boat owners to make large catches, or risk losing their jobs. Due to environmental degradation and pollution, fish nearer the shores are getting scarcer and scarcer, making it difficult to bring home the 10-12 tons of fish that owners demand. The salaries of the arrested fishermen ranged from Rs. 2,500-10,000. They worked on the boats as labourers, captain (Nakhuda), mechanics or cooks. The Indian fishermen said that they are sent after the Red Fish (Lal Pari), which is abundant in this area and sells for INR 15-16 per kg. Prawn (Jheenga) sells for INR 300-500 per kg while pomphret fetches INR 350 a kg, they said. Another loss they have to bear is that of their confiscated boats, worth Rs. 20-22 lakh each, including equipment like fishing nets, diesel stock and the occasional television or tape recorder set. Hundreds of boats lie rotting in Karachi harbour. SB

Profile of some Indian fishermen detained in District Jail, Malir, 2008 them money to celebrate Holi during their incarceration. They were allowed to live in one barrack together and were able to freely talk to each other and share their grievances. Some felt that their health had improved due to regular meals, while their complexion has improved by not being exposed to the sun, salt air and high winds at sea. In prison, they had learnt beadwork. They manage to make and sell beautiful rings, necklaces, keyrings, bangles and tasbeeh (prayer beads). The money earned enables them to buy ghee and chillies, the two items the jail doesnt provide. Some felt that had Benazir Bhutto been alive, she would have done something for their release as she did in 1995. They were roundly critical of the governments who have failed to acknowledge their pain and resolve the differences due to which they and their Pakistani counterparts are routinely detained. They said that due to unemployment and poverty in rural areas of Gujarat, they more easily find jobs in the fishing sector where they can earn more than any other field. Only

The Sole Spokesman Jinnah: The Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan By Ayesha Jalal Cambridge University Press, 1985

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