M A I N   N E W S

Gujral for new era of cooperation
By A.S. Prashar
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, Dec 23 — A former Prime Minister, Mr Inder Kumar Gujral, said today that the time had come for India and Pakistan to resolve their differences in a spirit of mutual amity and brotherhood in view of the changing situation in the world.

In a talk with TNS and also while addressing the World Punjabi Conference, Mr Gujral welcomed the extension in the Ramzan ceasefire in Kashmir announced by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the other day and said that this would create the right atmosphere for the holding of negotiations with the parties involved. He emphasised that he fully supported India’s demand for the cessation of cross-border terrorism by Pakistan before the resumption of talks with that country. “This is a valid demand and I fully support it,” he said.

He expressed the hope that the present opportunity would be utilised by the two countries to improve their mutual relations. On its part, India had always stood for improved relations with Pakistan. A lessening of tension between the two countries would be good not only for the people of India and Pakistan, but also for the entire region. The former Prime Minister said that there was no dearth of wisdom among Punjabis on both sides of the border who knew what was required of them.

He also observed that SAARC needed to be reactivated and resume its assigned role in the region. The entire subcontinent could move forward on the road to peace, progress and prosperity if SAARC was allowed to play its assigned role. He noted that representatives from all seven SAARC countries had met earlier this month at Kathmandu where it had been decided to set up a Citizens Commission for Regional Cooperation of which he had been elected chairman. He had addressed a letter to leaders of all SAARC countries to cooperate with one another:

i) in the field of information technology and scientific knowledge,

ii) forge a common front against the emerging WTO regime and

iii) cooperate with one another in the management of natural resources like hydel power and natural gas for the development of the region as a whole.

People of India and Pakistan had a common history, a common heritage and a common language. Their past was common and so was their future. This, however, did not mean that he wanted to undo Partition of the country in 1947. All that he wanted was to send a loud and clear message of love, friendship and mutual brotherhood and cooperation to the people of the two countries and call for a united stand against the forces of obscurantism and fundamentalism. “Let us lay the foundation of a new era of mutual friendship and cooperation,” he said, adding that “they had to evolve a scientific temper and modernise their thinking”. During the freedom struggle, his generation had fought against the forces of imperialism represented by the British. In the coming days, the new generation would have to fight against fundamentalism and obscurantism.

At one stage, Mr Gujral turned emotional as he recalled his days in west Punjab before Partition. He also said that the previous century had been very eventful. It had seen the end of imperialism. Those who went to other countries as indentured labour, were now ruling those countries. In this connection, he mentioned British Columbia in Canada, the USA, Fiji, Mauritius and the Caribbean.

Mr Gujral was also honoured by the conference along with 16 other Punjabis for their contributions in different fields. The others included Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, Premier of British Columbia, Yogi Harbhajan Singh Khalsa, Kartar Singh Duggal, Ramanand Sagar, Surinder Singh Hara, Fakhr Zaman, Bibi Surinder Kaur, Surinder Singh Manchanda, Dr Amardeep Singh Marwaha, Charanjit Singh Bath, Kartar Singh Pahalwan, Justice Ajit Singh Bains, J.S. Sandhu, Dr Daljit Singh and Mr Nek Chand.

The Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, extended a special welcome to the delegates from Pakistan. He also called for the creation of an international Punjabi trust for extending financial help to poor Punjabis’ education. A sum of more than Rs 51 lakh was collected on the spot with contributions from NRIs, Dr Amardeep Singh Marwaha and Mr Surinder Singh Manchanda.

Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal and Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia were among those who attended the conference.