DECLARATIONS
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Lahore Declaration
At a time when the
governments of India and Pakistan are intensifying mutual confrontation,
with government and political leaders openly talking about the
inevitability of a conflict and stockpiling of nuclear weapons,
the situation in the sub-continent is on the brink of war. In
a climate of hysteria forces of bigotry and religious intolerance
threaten the fabric of civil society on the sub-continent. In
such a bellicose atmosphere democratic rights of the people are
imperilled. There is therefore an urgent need for saner voices
to prevail. A group of concerned citizens from India and Pakistan,
from different walks of life, have been engaged in a process to
initiate a people-to-people dialogue on the critical issues of
Peace and Democracy. As a follow-up to this a group of 25 persons
from the two countries met in Lahore on September 2, 1994 and
after consultation came to the conclusion that the crisis in their
relations was being deliberately maintained by the ruling elites
in utter disregard of the common interest and aspirations of the
people of the two countries. It was agreed: |
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That war and attempts to create war hysteria
should be outlawed;
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That a process of de-nuclearisation and reversal
of the arms race should be started;
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That Kashmir not merely being a territorial
dispute between India and Pakistan, a peaceful democratic
solution of it involving the peoples of Jammu and Kashmir
is the only way out;
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That religious intolerance must be curbed
as these tendencies create social strife, undermine democracy
and increase the persecution and oppression of disadvantaged
sections of society;
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And finally that the group constitutes a convening
committee for setting up a Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy.
It was decided to hold a larger representative convention,
to which should be invited, from India and Pakistan, representatives
of the human rights movement, workers organisations, peasant
movement, women's movement, environment movement and other
mass organisations, cultural workers, professionals and academics.
Efforts should be made to involve persons well known for their
commitment to peace, equity and social justice, communal amity,
democracy and people's solidarity in the sub-continent
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The above statement was endorsed by the following participants:
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Pakistan:
I. A. Rehman
Khaled Ahmad
Prof. Dr. Haroon Ahmad
Karamat Ali
Dr.Mubarak Ali
Prof. Mehdi Hasan
Shahid Kardar
Madeeha Gohar
Nighat Saeed Khan
Hussain Naqi
B.M. Kutty
Anees Haroon
Iftikharul Haq
Prof. Rashid Ahmad
Dr. Mubashir Hasan
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India:
Nirmal Mukerji
Rajni Kothari
K.G. Kannabiran
Prof. Dinesh Mohan
Gautam Navlakha
Dr. Kamal Mitra Chenoy
Teesta Setalvad
Tapan K. Bose
Amrita Chhachhi |
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