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Friday, May 04, 2012
‘Indo-Pak people, culture, language, food very similar’By Manzoor Qadir
ISLAMABAD: We all found here the people, culture, language, food and environment to be very similar to what they are in India. We are excited and completely speechless by hospitality shown to us by Pakistanis and did not encounter any animosity towards Indians. If dismantling of the wall between Pakistan and India is difficult, then both governments should take steps to relax their visa policies to bring people of two countries closer and promote peace in the region.
These views were expressed by visiting Bharat Scouts and Guides members on Thursday. About 73 rovers and leaders of India and 300 rovers and rangers are taking part in six-day-long second Special Integration Camp, Messengers of Peace initiative, being organised by Peace Project of India and Pakistan 2012.
Funded by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Sweden, the aim of the camp is to promote and strengthen regional peace, solidarity and co-operation among young people of South Asia by providing them an opportunity to live together and engage in various activities fostering friendship and mutual understanding. Simren Prajapat, a 17-year-old girl hailing from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, talking to this scribe said, “When I was coming my parents were a bit scared, however, my elder brother encouraged me.” On reaching Pakistan, I felt it was no different from India, she added. Manmeet Kaur, an 18-year-old student from Ludhiana, Indian Punjab speaking in Punjabi dialect said her grandfathers used to live in Gujranwala before partition. “When my grandfather Manjeet Singh came to know about my visit to Pakistan, he was so excited and convinced my parents to see his ancestor’s land,” she said.
Krishna, a young girl from Surat, Gujarat, said, “The picture of Pakistan and its people has been painted very terribly in India, but after visiting, I come across an entirely different world.”
Pinto Bhati, a student of master degree programme expressed his feelings in some Urdu verses: ‘Aisa koi jahan milay, Har chahray par muskan milay, Milay mandir main Allah, aur masjid main baghwan milay.’ Hailing from Bhopal, Faiz Hassan, a student of MBA, said, “All my fears vanished when I landed in Pakistan and found similar language, culture, food, traditions and peace-loving people.” Aman Preet Singh, a student from Jalandhar, Punjab said, “Pakistanis are peace-loving people.” Talking to Daily Times, Harish Srivastava said delegation members are first-time visitors to Pakistan. He said earlier a special integration camp was organised between rovers of Pakistan and India in November 2011 at Haryana, India in which rovers and rangers from both countries had participated. He said cross-border trips and activities are providing youth of both countries a rare opportunity to interact with one another on a human, individual level, by sharing conversations, meals, as well as making each other aware of their respective cultures and countries.
Geeta, leader of the delegation, said both countries should cooperate with each other in various fields like education, health, technology for bringing peace in the region. “The mutual activities can promote enduring peace between India and Pakistan,” she added. “This is all because of the US who sells its weapons by creating conflicts in different regions. We should keep our differences aside and move forward on areas of cooperation,” she said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk