i think we are making a mistake. pakistan is a back stabber and it will do the same with us what it did on 26/11 so please for the sake of peace of india i think its a wrong step . government is right with its policies.

Phew what an anticlimax to the blog......

India needs to be realistic and comletely seal its borders (Like Israel has done) with Pakisthan. No man should be allowed to cross the border..the risk of Jihadis setting off a dirty nuke killing of millions in Delhi or Mumbai is too great (all the Aman Ki Asha folks will be gone too). Its best to develop frindships with moderate Pakis over the Internet..but seal the borders completly. Remember the Jihadis would love nothing better than dirty nuking a whole Indian city for the simple reason that Hinduism's truth about religious pluralism is directly oppposite to what they have been taught in a madrasa.

Dear Jug Suraiya,

This is mere wishful thinking on your part. I am a regular reader of your columns, and highly appreciate them. But, I wonder if you have written this under the influence of someone or of some organisation.

I am sorry, I am completely pessimist on this subject. Until the Indian gouvernment has the courage to punish those providing aid to the terrorist within our country as the terrorists themselves, nothing is going to change.

A. GHOSE

Rest assured, this aman initiative will also result in a stab in the back...just like Kargil was a stab in the back after Vajpayee's Lahore bus journey.
This is accentuated more by the name of the Pakistani group, TOI has parterned with --- JANG (Which means war).

Amen ki Asha is a good gesture but we the Indian should not forget the Kargil adventure, Parliament attack and the 26/11 (the Mumbai carnage).At Kargil India exhibited its bravery but at Parliament and Mumbai the responses are tepid and timid.We should extend our hands of friendship to the general citizen of Pakistan but stand tough and vigilant to the parpetrator of crime from across the border.

It is a nice and bold initiative by ToI, but as if it is a bad omen, the messengers of peace, the pigeons in the Aman Ki Asha icon also cannot see each other in the eye. Both are facing away from each other.
As Sawarkar had said to Gandhi, non-violence is effective only against humans not cannibals. Unfortunately, for Pakistan, only cannibals are taking decisions in form of leaders for them.
Amen!

oh!its high for us to understand that pakistan is a back stabber.Similar to previous attempts this would proove a failure.This has been much proved by the latest terrorist attacks in J&K valley.The government should stick to its strict foreign policy towards Pakistan.Furthermore why such peace propagating steps first initiated by our neighbour?ALTOGETHER AMAN KI ASHA IS A NICE ATTEMPT BUT IN VAIN

dicursive article and far fetched when it comes to analogy of aman ki asha with comparison b/w toi n ht.
also difficult to believe that ht could b a close competitor to toi , since daily i come across grammatical solicicms and typo errors in ht.

Jug, I admire your courage in bringing out this piece. There is so much rancor between the two nations, that anyone who tries to plead for unbiased understanding & geniality is going to be pilloried, as I can see happening in this case also. It has been my privilege to know some Pakistani families rather closely when I stayed in SEAsia, and I can only say that the bitterness between India & Pakistan is a tragedy for both. What is happening currently is that historical legacies, vigorous politicking by selfish politicians, fanatical approaches by people belonging to one religion or the other, and recently, the rise of Al Qaeda have totally befuddled even the better of us. But then it is for this precise reason that persistently, some sane & cool voices like the TOI’s and yours need to be raised & heard. It is necessary to have the courage to recognize that history can shape differently than the past, and in case of India and Pakistan, it is very material that this happens. Enmity, hatred, and alienation have done unspeakable harm to both of them. A slow, definite and continuous deviation from these promises much mutual benefit. Overcoming aversion is not easy, but it has immense rewards.

well!! we learn from our mistakes.i feel we are learning to make further mistakes.pakistan ke saath aman tak theek hai.let peace prevail and pull up our bootstraps all the time.expecting harmony has never been on the cards.yes, we shall try for peace. as the campaign title suddest.shaking hands would be of no use.threats must be kept at a distance and then there is peace.not a single speech out of their leaders have sounded friendly in any case or situation.its gud that we put efforts in development of our nation and keep an eye on the vulnerable borders.morally AKA is great campaign but i'm afraid it cant be effective.or maybe even forgotten as time passes by.

hahahahaha What an ending to the blog! Jug, u rock! By the way, have the readers lost all sense of humour? I wonder what HT has to say to this one.

This is an exercise in comlete vain...
The theocratic radical dictionary that Pakistanis use, does not have 'aman' as an entry.

An initiative in bridging the historical gap between India and Pakistan is indeed commendable. However, caution and alertness are the first words that come to mind when Pakistan and India try to move forward together.

It is in the interest of both countries, India and Pakistan to have good relations with each other. Political science dictates that in order to succeed u need a stable neighbourhood. A little concession here and there by both countries will bring generous rewards to the whole of South Asia. Our relations can improve once we start to become interdependent, this could be achieved through trade and people to people contact.
People to people contact, is a very effective way to understand the positive sides of each other and to allay misconceptions, it will also help each other in understanding that there is more to gain than to lose. There may come a time when people to people contact start to change into deep love for each other’s countries. This is absolutely important, because if the two countries ever prepare for war both country’s public could come out to demonstrate that they don’t want war, and hence putting pressure on the contemporary governments to back down.
India is growing economically quite well, and is a nuclear power, no one can do serious damage to India without receiving serious damage to itself. However, when considering, how fast China is growing, (and all set to become a regional power) it is more so in the interest of India to have good relation with Pakistan than the other way round.
China has not enjoyed good relations with some of its own neighbours, but today it is trying to improve relations with nearly all.
India/Pakistan rivalry or India/China rivalry is nothing compared to the bitter rivalry of China/Japan , which has been going on since the Japanese occupation of China (pre 1949).
Today even, China is trying to resolve differences with its most bitter rival Japan, why? because it makes business sense and faster progress. If China and Japan can, why can’t we, i.e. India/Pakistan.

Dear Mr. Suraiya,
Pakistan is dead horse, no sense of biting dead horse. If India and USA can join with drone
attack both can wipe out all the terrorist camps
and Al-Qieda's dispersed friends through out
Pakistan and POK, Both millitaries can claim
victory and can kill two birds with one stone.
Do not give that technology to Pakistani Army,
I am sure of using against India.
BJP was about to do that they wanted to destroy
those camps with precise air strikes. Engaging
armies on the both side will be very dangerous
and it would create long bleeding situation
at best for internal and external terrorists
groups that will be uncontrollable situation.

We have to swallow what happened during partition.
A broken pot is always broken, It is unfortunate
that happened, what is the practical solution,
All the wars were fought to be the last one
before humanity and sadly it is fact, The great
Ashok was right but world has produced on the ONE,
and probably last. Pakistani must be taught
a lesson and kept at bay for further attacks like
26/11 is nearly impossible the way our political
system works .
GOD bless India and her armed forces.
JAI HIND,
Thank you and sincerely,
Rajendra M. Parikh
Arlington, Texas USA

As per Pakistan only way to achieve peace(?) in the region is for India to concede Kashmir to Pakistan.(it is a different question whether the peace prevails ever between the two even if India really givesup Kashmir, because the issue is really not about the Land but about the ideology in the form of religion. It is in reality fundamentalism v/s psuedo-secularim). This is what you want Mr. Jug ???? Or you are so optimistic that Pak will give up the demand for Kashmir and come around their corrupt military and politicians to accept peace with India which is ruled by equally corrupt politicians ??? In either case you and the like minded are unrealistically optimistic...!!!! AT THE BEST what can happen out of this is one day you and your likes will get kicked very badly by the ultra-fundamentalists from across the border. Well.. AT THE WORST...I don't need to tell that...

Its been from a lond time that a step towards resolution of the dead lock between our relations with Pakistan has been done frm our side only but everything turned to be a big mistake. Pakistan in no way is intrested in any solution as they are now addicted to the situation .India shud leave the issue and look into the matters requiring urgent action like inflation , unemployment , attainment of self reliance in every sector. If this is done everything will be sorted out , its just we hav to emerge as a determing power(choosen one )
with regards

JUG

Ur hopes are very laudable. But think practically, will it happen??? No chance as long as our neighbour fails to abjure the failed policy of terrorism and eliminates all terror groups and their havens on its soil. Will that happen??? No, way.

Then why the fuss again??? Did we try out this grandiose project earlier and what happened?? it collapsed……. There should be mindset change across the borders. Some of their people and political parties may be willing,,,but they are overruled by who else..their armed forces, ISI and the terror groups as well as some political parties.

Pakistan is bred on a cocktail of hatred for INDIA and its India-centric philosophy is driving it a maddening desire to destroy it. HATRED is the core of their philosophy taught in their educational books and fine tuned by their terror groups

And did Pakistan take any action against 26/11 attackers till date…….the mastermind Saeed is still walking free. Oceans of proofs have been given, has anything come out of it???? They ask for more proof….what kind of sickening joke is this??

Simple, not much will come out of this latest initiative…. Remember LeT will scuttle it again….

so good to know that people have their own opinion on foreign policy than the one "forced upon us" by the newspaper.

Surprising comments - perhaps readers are not going through your whole post Jug, and without realizing what this fuss is all about, they are posing about the so called 'Aman Ki Aasha' peace project. So you are unable to hold your readership, isn't it?
And yes, about the TOI and HT war, obviously TOI has more money to spend, can post more vulgar pictures, can say about every news 'we reported this first', and can make collaboration with 'Jung' to have peace. That's funny for me. But of course, you are a TOI columnist and will show your loyalty be degrading other media house.
PS: You might not agree to this, but one of my friend posted this message on his messenger status: "The only Indian legal pornographic website: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com." lolz. Please go through the picture section called 'Sampadak Ki Pasand' - it's hilarious to know the editor's choice is semi-pornographic pictures of nude models. SO, that is what you will serve to your readers, to increase readership. Correct sir?

Jug Suraiya obviously knows which side of his bread is buttered. There can be no peace between India and that wretched country of Pakistan until (1) The army is tamed and (2) Pakistan renouces its Islamic ideology. Pigs will fly before either happens. The only realistic hope is that Pakistan breaks up because of its internal contradictions.