10 February 2004	Tuesday	18 Zilhaj 1424

LAHORE, Feb 9: Terming the suggestions to abolish the borders between Pakistan and India a 'wrong notion', an Indian historian has urged the people to work for improving bilateral relations between the two South Asian neighbours.

"Past cannot be wished away. We must try to create a conducive environment of understanding for better future relationships, and accept the reality of sovereign states in the subcontinent," Prof K.N. Panikkar told newsmen at a press conference here on Monday.

"In India, we've a fundamentalist ruling force which believes in Akhand Bharat (implying that such ideas are floated by them)," he told a newsman who wanted to know his mind on this suggestions.

Prof Panikkar was accompanied by five other Indian rights activists at the conference arranged hours before their departure to India after a week-long visit.

He said that the 'recent course of events' (peace initiatives taken by India and Pakistan) in the subcontinent was immensely influenced by external forces, especially the US and multinational companies.

"We need a strong peoples' movement to fight off this external influence and to introduce the element of independence in dealing with (bilateral) issues," he said.

The six-member Indian peace delegation visited Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad during its stay in Pakistan. The visit was arranged by an Indian nongovernmental organization, Anhad.

The Indian visitors said they had been talking to a variety of people - the peace and rights activists, academicians, journalists and common men - on the 'matters of common concern', which also included the question of Indo-Pakistan relationship.

Prof Panikkar said they had noted two tendencies among peoples of the two neighbours, neither of which could prove to be a basis for a healthy, normal relationship between them.

"There are two different kinds of people. One which has the tendency to advance animosity on the basis of past relations. The other which tries to romanticize this relationship because of some nostalgic feelings," he said.

However, he said: "we want both Indians and Pakistanis to look at the way they have conducted themselves in the past and develop a mutual understanding to base their future relations on."

For this, he said: "people from both sides of the divide would have to enhance people-to-people contact and disseminate concrete information regarding concerns and misperceptions found about one another in the two societies for removing snags (in the way of a normal and healthy future relationship)."

The historian also maintained that a 'healthy future relation' between India and Pakistan could not be built by ignoring the past and history. "We've a shared past. But unfortunately the shared history has been distorted (by governments) in both the countries.

Nobody can believe our history books. Those have nothing to do with reality. A healthy relationship depends upon our understanding of our real past," he said.

Mr Harsh Mander, a former civil servant, said they would "soon begin efforts like setting up a joint TV channel for bringing the people of the two countries closer".

Acclaimed actress Nandita Das said only the people could bring about a change. She said visits, discussions on issues concerning the peoples of the two countries were "small steps towards ending the politics of hatred".

She also stressed the role of media in removing misperceptions and misunderstandings that were preventing creation of atmosphere of mutual trust despite the fact that the people on both sides of the borders "had same problems, issues, wants and desires". Rights activist Shabnam Hashmi and film-maker Gauhar Raza also spoke at the press conference.