About this Publication is publication is the outcome of a collaborative project undertaken by the South Asian alumni of the WISCOMP Conict Transformation Workshops. For over seven years now, WISCOMP has been bringing together youth leaders from South Asia for dialogues and trainings on peacebuilding. ese dialogues have led to the initiation of several journeys of trust-building, mutual sharing and sustained dialogue between young women and men living across the divisions of conict. Closer to Ourselves: Stories from the Journey towards Peace in South Asia seeks to capture some of these experiences of personal change and social transformation, illustrating the power of human contact and its ability to empower individuals to engage in peacebuilding. Stories from the Journey towards Peace in South Asia Compiled by Anupama Sekhar Women in Security, Conict Management and Peace Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama India Habitat Center Core 4A, Upper Ground Floor Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003 India Women in Security, Conict Management & Peace Tel: 91-11-24648450 An initiative of Telefax: 91-11-24648451 Foundation for e Foundation for Universal Responsibility Email: [email protected] Universal of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Website: www.wiscomp.org Responsibility New Delhi, India A collaborative project by the South Asian alumni of the Annual Conict Transformation Workshops Compiled by Anupama Sekhar Women in Security, Conict Management & Peace An initiative of e Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama New Delhi, India Copyright © WISCOMP, Foundation for Universal Responsibility New Delhi, India, 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by WISCOMP Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Core 4 A, Upper Ground Floor, India Habitat Centre Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003 India is initiative was made possible by a grant from the Embassy of Finland and with support from the Ford Foundation, New Delhi, India. Printed by Communication Consultants, New Delhi, India CONTENTS Preface 05 About WISCOMP 06 Acknowledgements 07 THE STORIES OF GENERATIONS Stories of Four Generations of South Asians First Generation Stuti Bhatnagar Sharing memories 11 Second Generation Smriti Vij Homeward bound 13 Ishtiaq Ali Mekhri Love & longing in Chennai 16 ird Generation Of Otherness & Belonging Radhika Govinda e politics of being and becoming 18 B. Rajeshwari In everyday life 20 Meenakshi Chhabra Gatherers of new uits 22 Maria Saifuddin Eendi No longer anonymous 24 Khadija Amjad Singing the same songs 26 CT Workshop Experiences Muna Baig & Jyotirmoy Chaudhuri It has to be us 27 Deepti Mahajan Generating change 29 Nausheen Wasi A meeting of ‘enemies’ 31 Muna Baig & Soumita Basu Ongoing conversations 33 Imran Bashir Awan & Ahmed Ijaz Malik Bringing people closer 35 Nadia Anjum Lessons in building bridges 37 Anisha Kinra & Seema Sridhar First steps & giant leaps 38 Javed Ahmad Tak Finding common ground 41 Generation Next Kamran Rehmat Suhani’s song of peace 42 Arshia Ahmed Ayub & Najma Sanai An idea whose time has come 45 OF GEOGRAPHIES Stories of Home &Beyond from South Asia Bangladesh Zakia Haque e birth of hope 49 03 CONTENTS India First Impressions Ambreen Sehr Noon Finding emancipation in the heart of the enemy 51 Salma Malik 22 hours to New Delhi 53 Evelyn ornton From Delhi to Darfur: A journey in mindfulness 55 Saira Yamin My love aair with India 57 Rubia Jabbar Warm winds om the East 59 Saira Bano Orakzai A great grand-daughter’s journey 61 Kashif Saeed Between two estranged neighbours 63 Into the Heart of India Zahid Shahab Ahmed On the Tamil Nadu Express 65 Biraj Swain e necessary tyranny of memory 67 Bhabananda Takhellambam Conict & history: In defence 69 Kashmir Syed Sarwar Kashani Dateline Srinagar 72 Seema Shekhawat ey who wait 75 Ather Zia Redemption 77 Nepal Babita Basnet Women & the people’s war 81 Pakistan Shreya Jani ose borders in my mind 84 Siddhartha Dave Jisne Lahore nahi dekha 87 Maria Gulraize Khan Have you received our visa application, sir? 89 Meenakshi Gopinath Etchings on a wave 91 Manjrika Sewak Synchronicity 95 Anupama Sekhar Two states of home 96 CT WORKSHOP DIARIES THIS HOME 99 REDEFINING PEACE 102 WILL OUR GENERATION DELIVER PEACE? 104 WHY I CHOSE THE WORK I DO 107 INDIA DIARIES 109 PAKISTAN DIARIES 111 Alumni of the WISCOMP CT Workshops 2001-2007 112 WISCOMP CT Publications 123 04 PREFACE We are the stories we tell. In a region long haunted by All the stories collected here come from the alumni’s bitter tales of partition, Closer to Ourselves is an attempt engagement with building bridges. Some take the form to create a new point of reference for ourselves to tell of incidents that capture the splendid resilience of peace positive stories about each other. and simultaneously, its intense fragility. Others recount experiences that vigourously challenge long-held For over seven years now, 150 youth leaders from across stereotypes of “the other” and signicantly reshape our South Asia have been meeting, learning and training understanding of peace. e mood in these stories together at the Annual Conict Transformation (CT) evolves from scepticism to transformation and Workshops organised by WISCOMP in New Delhi. eloquently captures the challenges and victories of ese young professionals, mainly from Pakistan and peacebuilding. In keeping with the spirit of India, represent academia, media, WISCOMP’s Fih Annual civil society, international Conict Transformation organisations and the social sector. Workshop: Collaborative Explorations, some alumni have Since 2001, the Workshop alumni co-authored stories. have been engaged in dialogues of life and intellectual exchange, e beauty of this collaborative discussing everything from movies storytelling project was the initial and careers to CBMs and peace inability to predict the direction it accords. From these continuing would eventually take. e spirit voyages – within and without – and structure of the collection have doubtlessly emerged powerful evolved as we received stories experiences that have inspired, from the alumni. Eventually, informed or persuaded us. the personal narratives came to be At WISCOMP’s Fih Annual categorised under two sections: Conict Transformation Of Generations, which showcases Workshop: Collaborative stories of four generations of Explorations in late 2006, the time South Asians and Of Geographies, felt right to embark on a dialogue which showcases stories of home of common action to record our and beyond in South Asia. As the personal transformation on the Dialogues of life and intellectual book took nal shape, grief and challenging and inspiring journey exchange at the Conict Transformation healing, wonder and forgiveness, towards peace in South Asia. Workshops hope and transformation mingled to create a narrative that has e result is this collection, Closer to Ourselves: doubtlessly brought us “closer to ourselves”. Stories om the Journey towards Peace in South Asia, which developed steadily over the course of 2007. Closer to Ourselves tells us where we have been and Here, young South Asians don the mantle of storytellers how many miles we have yet to tread in the quest for to narrate personal experiences of conict peace. Such sharing will surely enable us to understand transformation from their individual and collective each other better and further strengthen our sense of journeys towards peace. As Workshop alumni community as we journey together. ese acts of Anisha Kinra and Seema Sridhar rightly suggest in their personal storytelling, I hope, will also liberate us into narrative, “Personal stories become the simplest, most newer ways of perceiving and experiencing peace in direct and remarkable means of communication South Asia. between one human being and another.” is is why Anupama Sekhar the alumni of WISCOMP’s CT Workshops have Fellow chosen to share personal reections of their forecasts Centre for Communication & Development Studies, Pune and feelings on South Asia, peace, friendship and & transformation. WISCOMP CT Workshop alumna, 2003 & 2004 05 ABOUT WISCOMP WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conict Management • Foreground the lens of gender in the analysis of and Peace) is an initiative of the Foundation for conict and in the conceptualisation of peace Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, initiatives. based in New Delhi, India. • Provide a reflexive curriculum for peace that evolves in response to changing regional and international WISCOMP is a South Asian research and training landscapes. is is done through knowledge sharing, initiative, which facilitates the leadership of women in theory-building, skill enhancement and critical the areas of peace, security and international aairs. reection on contemporary thinking and practices in Initiated in 1999 by Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath who conict analysis, mediation, multi-track diplomacy, currently serves as the Honorary Director, WISCOMP reconciliation, justice and post-conict peacebuilding. positions its work at the conuence of peacebuilding, • Build partnerships, mentoring relationships and a conict transformation and security studies. network of peace practitioners and theoreticians who e intersection of these with gender concerns provides can contribute to peacebuilding