The Indian political analyst, Kuldip Nayar, spoke to an attentive and enthusiastic audience in the inaugural session the South Asian Social Forum, that began in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday (18). He said that the South Asian people should have the right to visit all countries in the region on single visa. “I wish free access of South Asian people for traveling from Peshawar to Cox’s Bazaar, from the Himalayas to Yangon, and Yangon to Afghanistan,” he said. But this possibility is barred by the existence of outdated rules that prevent people from crossing borders within the region.
Bangladesh, until very recently, was once the eastern part of Pakistan, even though separated from it by 1,600 km of land and territories belonging to India. From 1947 to 1971, East Pakistan was politically dominated and economically exploited by the west side, and have suffered cultural and linguistic constraints, which led to civil war of liberation supported by India and the establishment of the State of Bangladesh.
Today, Kuldip Nayar believes on people’s unity to fulfil the dream of another possible South Asia. This would include transcend borders and those of religion, which separate Muslims and Hindus for example, to make people proud of their common South Asian identity.
Also in the mode of governance and use of resources, he defended collaborative practices. He said that India, as example, should share its technologies and market with other countries for developing the region.
He also proposed that South Asia could have a type of parliament composed by South Asian countries alongside own parliament of each country. “I believe in Gandhi-ism”, hel told, considering it will be possible to make hunger, poverty and exploitation-free South Asia.
Around ten thousand representatives from South Asian countries including Pakistan, India and Nepal along with delegates from Europe, Africa and Latin America participated in the inaugural session.
With a theme ‘Another South Asia is Possible’, University of Dhaka will host the five-day programme on DU campus.
The SASF participants will debate participatory democracy, human rights, fundamentalism, conflict and societal peace, food sovereignty, justice and development, media and cultural hegemony, and trans-boundary issues, as Kuldip Nayar pointed.