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The Rediff Special/ Ikbal Khan

Dushman Kaun?

Enough is enough is enough.

Almost three generations have grown since Partition. If nuances can tell, the events of 1947 are referred to as Partition or Independence, depending on which side of the great divide one belongs to. We have had enough of hatred and mistrust and suspicion.

Did I say enough? Evidently, not enough for some of the fringe groups in our two countries. Their existential raison d'etre survives on this hatred. If there are any undercurrents of understanding, they will eventually wither away if not fed some tender loving care.

Granted, I have been away from the subcontinent for a long time. Granted, I tend to look through rose tinted glasses. But you will also have to grant me the perspective that distance lends.

No mother would like the look of a body bag. This universalism applies across all religions, national and ethnic lines. We are foolish to deceive ourselves in the guise of nationalism. Unity based on hatred cannot solve the problems of the region. Nationalism alone is the refuge of fools. The multinationals that control our financial lives are laughing all the way to the bank. Peace and harmony, whether in this region or anywhere else is not in their best interest. This needs to be driven home at every opportunity. If the world is to be a true global village, it need not be at our expense.

Let us ask ourselves another question. Locally, who gains most by perpetuating this chasm, this hatred?

The top four groups in this list, in reverse order, will be the civil services (bureaucrats, the establishment, the administration) the politicians, the defence establishment. And overshadowing everything like a massive radioactive mushroom is the fascist fundamentalist.

These groups have to be addressed and tackled.

Now there is a recipe for head and heart aches. This work has to start immediately at the grassroot level. Who will do it? How long will it take? The burgeoning lower middle to middle-middle classes alongwith the educated will have to shoulder this responsibility with co-operation from any and all. This may take another few generations. Hey, who said it would be easy?

I am aware of some NGOs that are laying the ground work. They need to be encouraged and supported. Let the researcher and the statistician tell us how much of our budget is spent on defence capabilities. What percentage of the gross domestic product that amounts to, and compare those figures with what we spend on education and other basic amenities.

I am only a poet who trans-creates poems in English and Ghalib's Hindi. I have dreams and visions. But one thing I can guarantee -- if only 10 per cent of what we spend annually on defence establishment is diverted to education and provision of basic amenities for our citizens, we will be way ahead in ten years.

This is an almost impossible task. This will need a lot of resolution and determination on our parts. After all 10 per cent of billions is still billions of rupees and dollars. The powers that be are used to receiving it and will not give it up easily.

To achieve lasting peace and good neigbourly relations in the region, we have to stand up. Stand up not only against the bureaucracy, politicians, the defence hierarchy and the fundamentalist extremists but also against other powerful elements. The almost omnipotent multinationals with their arrogance and green bible. Our only hope is that they listen to the reverberations in the market place.

The moderates in Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Muslims (both Sunnis and Shias), Buddhists, Jains, Jews and Parsis should stand up and assert themselves. Only by forcefully asserting our moderateness, can we hold the extremist elements in our respective religions in check. And gain back the mantle of our fine heritage that has been hijacked by the hardliners.

If all of us stand up and be proud of our heritage, exercise moderation and fight to keep the extreme elements in check in our backyards, our parts of the world can be a better place.

We should stand up and act against extremism of any and all kinds. Live and let live! Let us be counted. Let our mantra be: 'Moderates of our world unite. Silent majority speak up'

Ikbal Khan was educated in Karachi and left Pakistan for the United States in the early seventies. A professional art dealer in Toronto, he is a poet who writes in English and Hindi/Urdu and calls www.chowk.com his home. He welcomes your views at Ikbalkhan@sprint.ca.

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