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Amity,
Cohabitation Transcend Political Boundaries
Satnam S Khalsa
 Monterey,
CA: Local Indian and Pakistani communities of
Monterey
Peninsula,
joined together to celebrate Independence days of India and
Pakistan. A maiden initiative of its own kind, this event was held
at the Irvine auditorium of the prestigious Monterey Institute of
International Studies (MIIS). Members of local Indian and Pakistani
communities, along with substantive number of local students and
residents attended the three hours program, which started with a
civic reception, in which Indian and Pakistani delicacies were made
available. Attendance was free and open to all.
Ms. Sameera
Sharief, a language Instructor and a prominent community activist,
acted as the stage host. The program started with playing of the
national anthems of India and Pakistan, during which all those
present stood up and paid respect to their respective national
flags. A professional linguist, Mr. Malik represented the Pakistani
community, and he welcomed the audience on behalf of organizers. In
his speech, Mr. Malik reiterated the virtue of co-habitation and
sharing our common culture and values. Indian community was
represented by Mr. Amit Pandya President of the local Indian
community of Monterey Bay (ICOMB). He apprised the audience of
different activities their organization was currently involved in.
A short cultural
program followed in which participants of all ages presented some
music, song, and dance items. Mrs. Sunita Narain, a prominent vocal
artist became emotional while singing a patriotic song. A panel of
four scholars did a symposium on India-Pakistan. Mr. Surinder Rana
made a presentation titled, “Indian at 62: Challenges and
Opportunities”. Mr. Rana said that although India with its stable
democracy and it’s impressive economic growth during last two
decades have shown great deal of promise, it has many challenges,
which could change its destiny during the coming decades. Analyzing
the history of conflict in the sub-continent, Mr. Najm Akbar
highlighted the signs of reconciliation between India and Pakistan.
Dr. Glynn Wood of MIIS reminisced about his 40 years association
with
South Asia.
While remembering his days in
Kabul and
Bangalore, Dr. Wood said that despite years of hostility and
acquisition of destructive hardware, redeeming factor is that we
still have faith in negotiated outcomes rather than hostile
propensity of killing each other. Fourth panelist Dr. Sharad Joshi
also of MIIS, dwelled upon dynamics of India-Pakistan conflict and
explained the process of dialogue underway between the two
countries. Members of the audience also participated in the
discussions by asking some thought-provoking questions to which
panelists appropriately responded.
This event was
first of its own kind in this area. Gauging the success of this
event from number o f participants, and enthusiastic response of
those who attended, sponsors, which included local leading business
owners such as Mr. Bhula Bhai Patel, Mike Patel, Gitaben, and
Harshad Patel, and above all Dr. Sunder Ramaswamy, President of
MIIS, expressed optimism of continuing with such activities in
coming years too.
2
September 2009
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