Petition Urging Indians, Pakistanis to Reject Division and Hate Gets Over 5,500 Signatures
The Wire Staff
New Delhi: A petition that calls for the people of India and Pakistan to reject divisive ideologies and advocating dialogue over hate and revenge has garnered over 5,500 signatures since it was floated three days ago on change.org.
Signed by prominent individuals including filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, Pakistani-American historian Dr Ayesha Jalal, Pakistani physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy, Indian economist Jean Dreze and Nepali publisher Kanak Mani Dixit, the petition condemned violent extremism and terrorism as well as “the targeting of unarmed civilians for any reason including as a means to achieve political ends”.
Noting that “communal and faith-based politics” being amplified by the media and social media on either side was creating “the illusion of a consensus for war”, it added that this sentiment has “severely vitiated the political climate in Southasia [sic]”.
“Sustainable peace requires a collective rejection of such divisive ideologies by the people of the region,” said the petition posted by the Southasia Peace Action Network, which went on to urge Indians and Pakistanis to “hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or action that feeds war hysteria”.
It also opposed attempts to weaponise shared natural resources or bilateral agreements such as under the Indus Waters Treaty or the Simla Agreement.
India and Pakistan engaged in a military stand-off that killed civilians as well as security personnel over the last week. This followed India's conducting missile strikes against ‘terrorist infrastructure’ in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and in Pakistan, which New Delhi said was retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Both sides agreed to cease fighting on Saturday afternoon.
The change.org petition has been reproduced in full below.
§
The Issue
We, peace activists from India, Pakistan and elsewhere, categorically condemn every form of violent extremism and terrorism.
We particularly condemn the targeting of unarmed civilians, for any reason, including as a means to achieve political ends.
This cycle must end for peace to prevail. Communal and faith-based politics feeding frenzy on both sides, amplified by media and social media, gives the illusion of a consensus for war.
This loud warmongering puts tremendous pressure on governments and armed forces on both sides, as well as inciting the public. It has severely vitiated the political climate in Southasia*, fostering mistrust among citizens.
Sustainable peace requires a collective rejection of such divisive ideologies by the people of the region.
India and Pakistan must behave responsibly. Any war between these two nuclear-armed nations would be disastrous. As history shows, it is ordinary citizens who suffer the most in conflict, especially women, children, minorities, the elderly, and other vulnerable communities forced to prove their patriotism.
We therefore urge the people of India and Pakistan to hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or action that feeds war hysteria.
We strongly oppose any attempts to weaponize shared natural resources or historic bilateral agreements. Suspending longstanding agreements like the Indus Water Treaty (1960) or like the Shimla Accord (1972) would erode the basic framework of legality and civility in bilateral relations.
We call on all those who believe that peace, not war, is the way forward, to speak out against the politics of hate, violence, and vengeance, and to stand up for dialogue, cooperation, and a shared future of peace and co-existence.
*Why Southasia as one word? Because history, geography and shared struggles say so.
Initial signatories:
- Dr. A.H. Nayyar, physicist, Lahore
- Beena Sarwar, Journalist, filmmaker, Boston / Karachi
- Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physicist, Islamabad
- Saeeda Diep, activist, Lahore
- Tahira Abdullah, activist, Islamabad
- Sheema Kermani, Cultural activist, Karachi
- Dr. Riaz Sheikh, Historian, Karachi
- M. Tahseen, Activist, Lahore
- Anand Patwardhan, Filmmaker, Mumbai
- Lalita Ramdas, educationist, Hyderabad, Telangana
- Dr. Sandeep Pandey, activist, Lucknow
- Feroze Mithiborwala, Writer, Social Activist, Mumbai, India
- Anuradha Bhasin, journalist, Jammu
- Kanak Mani Dixit, Journalist, Kathmandu
- Arundhati Dhuru, Activist, Lucknow
- Khawar Mumtaz, Activist, Lahore
- Laxmi Murthy, Journalist, Bangalore
- Dr. Syeda Hameed, activist, Delhi
- Asad Faruqi, Artist/Filmmaker, Karachi / Brooklyn, NY
- Badre Alam, Social and political activist, Siddharth Nagar, Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh
- Dilip D’Souza, writer, Bombay
- Pragyan Srivastava, Journalist, Boston/Delhi
- Ram Puniyani, Peace worker, Mumbai
- Sameera Khan, Journalist/Researcher, Mumbai
- Col. Pavan Nair, Indian citizen, Pune
- Siraj Khan, Board Chair, Society for Youth Boston
- Marvi Sirmed, journalist/peace activist (Pakistani-Washington, D.C.)
- Vinod Mubayi, Co-editor Insaf Bulletin, New York
- Vishal Sharma, Researcher/Peace Activist, Coventry
- Dolores Chew, College professor, Montreal
- Dr. Jatinder Maan, Punjab
- Dr. A. Giridhar Rao, World Esperanto Association
- Prabir, Doctor, West Bengal
- Sandhya Gokhale, feminist activist, Mumbai
- Ms. Sharmeela de Vas, Mumbai
- Sneha Jayaraj, Attorney, New York City / Kerala
- Sushovan Dhar, Activist, Kolkata
- Suraj Budathoki, New Hampshire State Representative, Manchester NH
- Shahzad Irshad, Author, Oxford/Manchester
- Verdah Kazi, Psychotherapist, Brooklyn/Karachi
- Varsha, teacher, civic society activist, bengaluru
- Himanshu Gupta, Child protection Social Worker, Ferozepur
- Guddi S L, Social Political Activist, Mumbai
- Satya Talwar, Retired professor, Delhi
- Rajashri Dasgupta, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
- Bobby Abraham, Creator, Kerala
- Sushil Khanna, Professor (Retd) IIM Calcutta, Kolkata
- Rajesh Ramakrishnan, Independent researcher and activist, Chennai
- Purnesh Joshi, Software Engineer, Mumbai/Pune
- Majid nasrullah, Musician, Bangalore
- SandhyaRoy, Journalist, India
- Vishal, Engineer, Mumbai
- Samita Kaur, Environmentalist, Punjab
- Harsh Kapoor, Editor, Mainstream, Montpellier
- Susan, Retired, Bangalore
- Jyothi, Art facilitator, Chennai
- Nityanand Jayaraman, journalist/social activist, Chennai
- Sandhya Srinivasan, Journalist / researcher, Mumbai
- Sagari Ramdas, Veterinary Scientist, Hyderabad, India
- Dr Ashok Kumar Somal, Retired IFS officer, Kangra HP
- SUNIL MICHAEL CALEB, Professor, KOLKATA
- Ms Foqia Sadiq Khan, Social Scientist, Islamabad
- Navin, Independent, Hyderabad
- V.Priya, Community facilitator, Tirupathi
- Rajeev Raj R, Independent Film maker, New Delhi
- Prajit Basu, Hyderabad
- Ansloyd Gomes, Artist, Goa/London
- Siddhartha Mitra, Programmer NYC
- Aditya P, Designer, Pune
- Abhayraj Naik, Educator and Researcher, Bengaluru / Sri City
- John D'Souza, Consultant, Mumbai
- Ajin K Thomas, Schoolteacher, Chennai
- Ishan A., Ecologist, Goa
- John Dayal, Writer, Delhi
- Sadeqa Siddiqui, Activist, Montreal .
- Swathi, PhD scholar, Bengaluru
- SUMAN BASU, Teacher, Kolkata
- Pooja Nirala, Labour Rights Activist, Guwahati
- Stella James, Researcher, Bengaluru
- Apoorva Kulkarni, Scientist/ Artist, Mumbai/ Oxford
- Niya Tapo, Indigenous Climate researcher, Arunachal Pradesh, Roing
- Manish Kumar, Student, Araria
- Mohammed Ahmed Khan, Social activist, Lucknow
- Sehjo singh, Climate Convener, Delhi/Udaipur
- Philip Pinto, Brother, Chandigarh
- Pradeep Ghosh, Social Worker, Bhopal
- Bhagwan Awaghade, Core member Rashtriya Dharmnirpekshta Aandolan and Ambedkarite propagating constitutional human values, Satara
- Ela Gandhi, Retired Social worker/ political activist, Durban South Africa
- Shubhranshu Choudhary, Journalist, Delhi
- Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai
- Mubashira Patel, Student, Intern, Mumbai
- Amjad M Syed, Director sales and operations, Bangalore
- Shweta Damle, Peace Activist, Mumbai
- Tripta Batra, Creative Educator; Writer, Delhi NCR
- Soumya Dutta, Educator - Researcher - Knowledge activist
Delhi NCR - Madhavi Swamy-Peters, Rural livelihoods, Kashmir/ Ladakh/ Bangalore
- Rahul Banerjee, Social Activist, Indore
- Ravinder Pal Singh, Academic Activist, Gurugram
- harshad tayade, Student of International Relations, Mumbai
- Ammu Abraham, Activist, on women's rights and civil liberties,
Mumbai - Smita Ramanathan, Freelancer, Thrissur
- GOVARDHAN RAO PANCHINENI, Businessman, Hyderabad
- Nityanand Jayaraman, Journalist/social activist, Chennai
- Amna Yameen, Researcher/Activist, Islamabad and Hamilton (NZ)
- Abhishek Taneja, Sustainability Promoter, Solan
- Nishtha Jain, Filmmaker, Mumbai
- Guru, Concerned Citizen, Bengaluru
- Krithika, Psychologist / Activist, Bangalore
- Jugal Hatila, कृषि, Nokha ( bikaner)
- Komal, Activist, Maharashtra
- Sangeetha, self employed, Mysore
- Mohammad Imran, Retired, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA
- Rutuja, I/O psychologist, Pune
- Saravanan V., Ph.D. Student, New Delhi
- Rukmini Iyer, Peacebuilder, Mumbai, India
- Nasreen Rehman, peace activist/historian, Cambridge UK'
- Ashka Naik, Researcher/Activist, Boston/India
And others.
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