In Solidarity with the people of Mumbai

In defence of Peace, Secularism and Democracy

Against Hate, Violence and Fascism

Performances by Vidya Shah, Ustad Zamir, Shubendu Sen, Qazim, Wagesh Jha and students of Jamia

Tikona Park (Jamia Nagar), 6^th December, 5.30 pm onwards

jamia teachers' solidarity group

AWAM theatre group

south asia initiative for peace

residents of jamia nagar (Mahtab: 9811209345)

Another South Asia is Possible

As the horrific details of the terrorist massacres in Mumbai emerge there is deep sense of shock and sheer disbelief among the people of India and indeed around the entire world.  Together with all this there is also great sorrow and even despair among those everywhere who understand the value of life and what the loss of each individual being really means.

What does one call those, who with planned precision butcher completely innocent people and in as many numbers as possible, with not a shred of discrimination, mercy or remorse? What ever could be the justification for this act of cold-blooded inhumanity in any religion or ideology and what purpose could it serve towards any  political or national objective? What blueprints of the future will they paint with the oozing red blood of someone’s mother, child or father, their life cut short in a moment of sheer insanity?

Was it plain revenge, for real and imagined wrongs of the past, that motivated the killers and whoever financed, trained and facilitated their murderous intentions? If so, when will this cycle of revenge and counter-revenge ever really end? Or are we to accept quietly the diktat laid out by terrorists of all hues that they are our future, the future is already here and looks like a graveyard where bodies are not just buried but also cremated?

Should we the people of South Asia, home to one-fourth of all humanity and the repository of the world’s most ancient cultures, meekly accept this dreadful future as a fait accompli and become a sub-continent of permanently sealed fates? Are we to succumb to the language of terror and counter-terror for the rest of our lives, our tongues in constant motion spewing venom or permanently locked from cold fear? Is this the world we want to leave behind for our children, of high-security borders, of bullet-proofed bodies and souls, our hands in blind paranoia shooting at our own moving shadows?

The answer has to be a resounding No! For there is anything that is the central quality of all forms of life on Earth it is the ability, indeed the ferocious passion, to resist its own demise and of all that it cares for.  What the tears of every mother who lost her child and every child that lost its parent in the mindless cycles of violence of our region is the time has come to stand up and prove beyond doubt that we are alive, deeply in love with life and every wonderful gift it brings with it.

Indeed, what the tragedy of Mumbai and the countless ones before it, plead with each one of us is to pause, reflect, breathe deeply and collectively change the course of our sub-continent forever.

We will not let a handful of political maniacs convert all of South Asia into a battleground of suicide bombers and homicidal hawks. We will not let the artificial borders of our nation-states, inherited from colonial history, become the tripping-wires of genocide, holocaust and the apocalypse. We will not let the merchants of death trample upon even the slightest sign of life flowering in our lands or extinguish the faintest hope that dwells in the hearts of our people.

In the fight against terrorists of all kinds or politicians and planners who place abstract nation, religion, ideology or the pursuit of wealth above everything we value most in our lives there are no more Indians, Pakistanis, Afghans, Bangladeshis, Nepalis or Sri Lankans. We are first and foremost human beings and indeed we are the united people of South Asia who will strive for peace, justice and democracy and win the most beautiful future for our children. Another South Asia is not just Possible but begins right now!