01 March 2005	Tuesday	19 Muharram 1426

ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: Two veteran Indian Communist leaders here on Monday stressed the need for greater mobilization of masses on both sides of the divide to construct the much-desired bridge of peace between India and Pakistan and fight poverty , illiteracy and unemployment in the South Asian subcontinent.

They attributed the religious and communal extremism and riots in the two countries to the 57 years hostility which is responsible for weakening democracy.

Speaking at two separate functions in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi General-Secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Harkishan Singh Surjeet and General-Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), A.B. Bardhan said the masses, the peasant and the working class on both sides wanted peace.

"However, it [peace] could not be delivered through mere table discussions of the two countries' leaders but by mobilising the masses and pushing ahead the ongoing dialogue process to a point from where they [leaders] could not step back.

"They had to embrace peace as the last word for the survival of the two nations", the two leaders observed while speaking on the topic of "Indian Left and Indo-Pakistan Reconciliation", at a function organized by South Asia Free Media Association (Safma) at a capital hotel in the evening.

Though the people of the South Asian subcontinent owe much to the two communist leaders for their struggle against the British colonial rule, this is for the first time after independence that both the comrades have been allowed to visit Pakistan and play their role in establishing peace and regional harmony.

Mr Bardhan also made it clear that no peace could be acceptable to the people on both sides, at least to the Indians, if it was imposed as a result of pressure from the United States.

The US, he said, was playing double game. On the one hand it is pretending to be serious in solving issues between India and Pakistan on the other it is asking India to become the next superpower in Asia.

"We don't want to be a superpower because we have seen the superpower's aggression against Iraq and its role in Afghanistan, its threats to Iran, Syria and North Korea terming the three countries "axis of evil", Mr Bardhan said, stressing an indigenous and well thought-out solution to all the issues between the two neighbours.

Tracing the historical, geographical and, social roots and similarities shared by the people on both sides, the member of Indian parliament said that diversity existed between the two nations, should positively be used to attain lasting peace and "nothing more or nothing less but solutions to all the issues".

He also highlighted the importance of the SAARC and other regional platforms for the economic prosperity of the region. Though he said he was not representing the Indian government, he defended his country on the issue of water and concerns of Pakistan and Nepal in this regard.

India, he said, cannot cause flood in Nepal or any other countries and these were just distorted facts and apprehensions and must not be developed into a theory. He condemned the Indian Gujarat communal riots saying "it did not erupted suddenly but was as a logical consequence of the unending BJP's propaganda and the RSS activities.

Gujarat, he said, had served as a laboratory (to assess and evaluate the activities and ideologies of various factions) and the left has been playing a great role in combating the communal riots and in protecting the human rights in India.

Earlier speaking on the occasion eminent educationist, and leftist scholar Prof Khwaja Masud said: "History is moving too fast...beyond our expectations...don't look back but look forward". The same words were also repeated by the veteran left leader.

Mr Surjeet could not speak longer due to his old age and frail health. However he termed their Pakistan visit at an appropriate time and opportune occasion. "I can assure you that we have come here for no personal benefits. We can't say that peace could be accomplished) tomorrow or (in) a year. If we have to come again (for the sake of peace) we will not hesitate", he said.

He also hoped that his meeting with President Musharraf will be successful. Earlier speaking at a reception arranged by the Joint Left Front at a hall in Rawalpindi the two veteran communist leaders urged the working class and the people of the two countries to keep pressurizing their governments to continue the dialogue process and find a solution to the problems constraining their relations for the past 57 years.

"Indian and Pakistani governments should continue dialogue despite all odds", CPI General-Secretary Bardhan said. Warning the people against expecting quick results, he said, over half-a-century-old problems could not be resolved overnight and would take some time. But the key to their solution was remaining steadfast, he added.

Mr Bardhan said both the governments should have political will and courage to sort out these problems. He said the Communist Party of India and other left leaning parties had always been in favour of unconditional talks.

"Once the two sides start talking the problems will get solved by themselves," he added. The communist leader was of the opinion that the first step was always difficult and the rest of the journey passed easily.

He cited the example of Delhi-Lahore bus service, which took a lot of efforts to get going. But now, he said, several more connections were coming up like the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service, Amritsar-Lahore bus service and the Monabhao-Khokharapar train service.

Mr Bardhan said he would be urging President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri to continue negotiations. "We have come to Pakistan with the message of peace, brotherhood and friendship," he said, adding that he would return back to India to tell the people there that Pakistani nation was ready to reciprocate and find solution to the problems. "The atmosphere is perfectly conducive."

Speaking on the occasion, CPI-M General-Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet said socialism was still alive despite the demise of the USSR. He said people were giving up capitalism in favour of socialism.