Unity in Diversity: Promoting Peaceful Coexistence in South Asia through Art, Academics, Journalism and Law
By Naveen Akhund
Surrey, England
“Borders may divide us, but Zoom unites us”, quipped Shehzad Ghias Sheikh, host of the popular podcast ‘ The Pakistan Experience’ , introducing a lineup of speakers from diverse backgrounds at an online session on ‘ Unity in Diversity’ : Promoting Peaceful Coexistence in South Asia .’
A well-known comedian, content creator, and Fulbright scholar, he was moderating a discussion at the 25th session organized by the activist group Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan) in its series Imagine Neighbors in Peace, held on 26 May 2024, the last Sunday of the month as usual.
Event host Namrata Sharma, journalist, and human rights activist in Kathmandu, quoted the late, great human rights advocate Asma Jahangir, who said “Democracy is not just about elections. It is about the protection of human rights.”
She spoke about the India-Nepal open border as an example of how soft borders can facilitate bonding and kinship between people from different countries. Her maternal grandfather was sent by the Nepali government to set up the Nepali department in a university in Banaras. Her grandmother used to go to Banaras for three months every year to escape the harsh winter of Kathmandu and never faced visa issues. Namrata herself worked in Ahmedabad without the need for a work permit.
May 26 this year marked the 15th death anniversary of Dr Muhammad Sarwar , who led the country’s first nationwide student movement in the 1950s. His daughter Beena Sarwar, co-founder and curator of Sapan talked briefly about the relevance of the student movement to Sapan’s work today. Dr Sarwar was a student at Dow Medical College when he led the Democratic Students Federation. While DSF members were either members or sympathizers of the Communist Party of Pakistan, the leadership took care to keep party politics out of campuses.
Beena said she learnt the idea of unity in diversity from Dr Sarwar, who always stressed the importance of a ‘minimum common agenda’ regardless of political or ideological differences. From the student movement, she also learnt the importance of documentation and of asking for small donations to build a community.
Celebrated choreographer, dancer, activist and founder of Darpana Academy of Performing Arts Mallika Sarabhai has influenced Indian culture for over forty years. Speaking at the discussion, she said she believes that art is a tool to raise consciousness and increase sensitivity from a young age. Her goal is to use language, including that of dance, to work towards a peaceful and just world. “The real joy of life is the sisterhood that exists in the diversity.”
She spoke fondly of the time she visited Lahore by bus in 1999, accompanying then-Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on a peace initiative. The streets of Lahore as she walked through them felt like home to her. She described the feeling as going to someone’s house and eating home-cooked daal that you are used to, just “made with a different tarka”.
Author and human rights activist Sanam Sutirath Wazir, who hails from Jammu & Kashmir, documents large-scale violence through oral history. He spoke about the narrative that is constantly fed to people through those in politics and business who aim to profit off violence. The majority of people in these countries are living in abject poverty, “but their defense budget is in millions of dollars.”
His book, The Kaurs of 1984 (Harper Collins India, 1984) documents the events of Operation Blue Star 1984 and the anti-Sikh pogrom that followed afterwards. He talked about the importance of giving voice to a perspective that has historically been suppressed, that of the Sikh women who witnessed and were victimized by the violence of the era.
Sanam emphasized the importance of acknowledgment when talking about reconciliation. His family traveled from present-day Pakistan to India during Partition and he talked about how his grandmother walked 200 miles on foot from Lahore to Srinagar.
Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh Sara Hossain agreed with the importance of acknowledgment. However, injustices from the past should not be used as an excuse to suppress the rights of those living in the present. Presently, if an individual or group is perceived as criticizing the Bangladeshi Liberation Movement, they could be imprisoned for 10 or more years. This is a law that has not been challenged or questioned.
Sara stated that true diversity includes ‘diversity of opinion in the political sphere.’
“If we don’t work on our trauma collectively, we will always lag behind,” said Umali Thilakarathna, a Sri Lankan actor and theatre performer. A trained counselor and Early Childhood Educator who trains caregivers on safeguarding children against abuse, she has partnered with organizations like Factum , to train social and digital media influencers on ethical content creation.
Umali uses her platform as a known artist and celebrity in Sri Lanka to encourage emotional intelligence and empathy wherever she is invited to speak.
Senior Nepali journalist and editor at the multi-media venture Deshsanchar Yubaraj Ghimere discussed how traditionally, the different communities within Nepal have respected each other. He acknowledged the extra work the different nations within the region must do to generate long-lasting peace. ‘Violence has a spill-over effect, but unfortunately, peace does not.’
The informed and lively discussion about the role of art, academics and the law in activism included the speakers sharing thoughts on how to facilitate platforms like Sapan to create a positive, long-lasting effect in the region and its diasporas.
Mallika, who has been working for human rights and empowerment through her organization, talked about how it’s a pleasant coincidence that she was invited to speak at this event because at Darpana, they had recently come to the conclusion that “their focus needs to be peace-building”. She talked about her experience with working on empathy building in children starting from an early age.
A big question Yubaraj is trying to answer with his colleagues is the extent to which journalism is responsible for cultivating peace in the region. ‘Where have we gone wrong, are we responsible for the peace process not getting to the logical conclusion that was expected? That is something being debated in Nepal. We are also debating it because we were hoping that the success of Nepal’s peace process could be an inspiration for other countries in South Asia.’
Umali stated that she was raised in a Sinhalese Buddhist family, but was raised to celebrate all cultures and religions. She celebrated Ramadan, as well as the Tamil and Sinhalese New Years together. ‘If we can get together, I think there is so much change that we can make.’
Sanam ended on a note of positivity, sharing an anecdote where he discussed weddings with a Pakistani friend. It was a lovely, warm moment for them when they realized how similar the weddings can be.
“What is national interest if the people are not happy? If you’re making people enemies of each other, you are building a nation of hate which will collapse one day,” he asked
He shared how people from both sides of the border collaborate with each other in the Punjabi film industry without any issues. ‘I see struggle, but I also see hope. It is very important to create, to celebrate those stories of hope.’
“Borders may divide us but we all have a Seema from Mumbai in our family” quipped Shehzad, commenting on South Asian weddings and the matchmaking industry, with a reference to the Netflix reality show ‘Indian Matchmaking.’
Further to the point raised by Sanam, Mallika requested all those participating in the event to connect her to South Asian artists. She raised the issue of funding mostly being available only from Western sources and therefore not having many opportunities to collaborate with other South Asian performers and artists from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
Sara talked about the documentary ‘ Defiance ’ which highlights the struggles of the South Asian community in the UK in the 1970s. The documentary draws upon a member of the Sikh community and a member of the Bangladeshi community in East London.
“The story of 1971 is not just the story of Bangladesh; it’s also the story of India and Pakistan,” she said
Sara has been working with colleagues on religious minority rights and talked about the concept of ‘Love Jihad’, the negative term given to inter-religious relationships. If anything, ‘our obligation is to stand with them, not criminalize them. I think we need to tell these stories across our separations.’
It is important to keep these conversations going, she said, and to take advantage of the diverse language skills that Sapan members have as a group to reach larger numbers within our communities.
In closing, Dr Fauzia Deeba, a physician from Quetta and a core member of Sapan, who now resides in the USA spoke about the significance of Balochistan in these conversations. Her notes highlighted the importance of future initiatives for peacebuilding and stability for the province of Balochistan and its inhabitants.
She stated that despite the difficulties faced by the province of Balochistan, its people are still joyful and know how to embrace life. ‘We are still dancing.’
Indeed, that is something South Asian countries have in common with each other. We can find common ground and celebrate our differences when we embrace the different art forms that are practiced in our region.
– Report by Naveen Akhund, freelance writer based in Surrey, England.
