Indian columnist says he’s an agent for peace and harmony in South Asia
Visiting Indian columnist Kuldip Nayar shared his dream of better relations between the people of Pakistan and India in an interaction with students of Bahauddin Zakariya University Lahore Campus on Tuesday.
Nayar and acclaimed Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt were given a warm welcome by the university students on arrival at the campus. BZU Lahore Campus Principal Munir Bhatti introduced the two visitors to the students in his inaugural address. Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami presided over the event.
Addressing the students, Nayar said that he was born in Sialkot but his family was forced to migrate to India fearing a backlash against Hindus who chose to stay in Pakistan.
“Even though my family and I moved to India, there’s a special place for Pakistan in my heart as I was born here. Some people in Pakistan think that I’m an Indian agent while on the other side of the border I’m described as a Pakistani agent. I’m an agent, but my activities are for peace and harmony between the two countries,” he said.
Nayar said that he hoped for friendly relations between the people of the two countries, but admitted that the dispute over Kashmir was a major obstacle to regional peace. “Kashmiris should be given the right to determine their future in accordance with the UN resolutions. I’ve already proposed that except defence and foreign affairs, Kashmiri leaderships living on both sides of the border should be given administrative control over all departments,” he said.
He said that after Jawahar Lal Nehru in India and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Pakistan, both countries had lacked visionary leaderships which had led to the current state of affairs. “But I’ve not lost hope and a time will come when all of us would be able to live in peace with each other,” he said.
Addressing the event, Arif Nizami said he had first met Nayar during a visit to India and had offered him to write for The Nation, the paper which the former edited at that time.
“Everyone knows the anti-India stance of the Nawai Waqt group, which had administrative control over The Nation. Still I published Nayar’s articles in the paper and he continued writing for The Nation until the time I left the organisation. Nayar also stopped writing for The Nation after my departure,” he said.
Nizami said that Nayar’s recently launched autobiography ‘Aik Zindagi Kafi Nhi’ spoke of his ultimate desire to see friendly relations between Pakistan and India. “Both countries should seriously consider resolving the matter so that people on both sides of the border and our future generations can live their lives in an environment of peace and harmony,” he said.