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Striking a familiar chord
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Teachers and students should play a dominant role in building up a healthy relationship between both the countries
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Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
Bonhomie Wipe out differences by indulging in educational and cultural exchange programmes
“The ground realities concerning the ‘Indo-Pak’ relationship in Pakistan are quite different from what is perceived by the general public. The animosity is blown out of proportion by some people with vested interest on both sides,” opined the Dean Faculty of Social Sciences and Head of Department of Applied Psychology and Mass Communication Alay Ahmad in a chat with The Hindu Metroplus here on Wednesday.
Visiting the port-cum-steel city as a delegate at the three-day conference on health psychology organised by the Department of Psychology, Andhra University, he aired view that majority of the intelligentsia in Pakistan favour a cordial relationship between the two countries and did not hesitate to express it boldly at any forum. “Our roots are familiar and we strike a common bond very easily. Many people from both countries live together under the same roof and eat from the same plate when they live in another country. When there is no difference of opinion in that situation, why here? It is played up by some external force to keep us divided. They (external forces) know that if we unite, we would be a powerful nation.”
Dr. Ahmed suggested that the difference could be rooted out through exchange of educational programmes, sporting activities and cultural interaction.
“Teachers and students can play a dominant role in building up the relationship. The media in both the countries has been playing a positive role through good editorials and it is now up to the academic segment to carry forward the good role. All differences and conflicts can be wiped out with good and positive education,” he said.
A student of Aligarh Muslim University, he moved to the other side during partition. But he still reminisces his days in the campus and how he shared his room and food with his Hindu friends like Amar Singh, Mathur and Arun Ganguli. “We would have a gala time during Dussehara and Diwali.”
The veteran professor is also of the opinion that technological cooperation and business ties could play vital role in forging a healthy relationship.
“India has progressed well on the technological front, especially in the field of medical sciences. The people of Pakistan were overjoyed when the gates were opened for free heart surgeries. Such gestures touch the heart. People of both the countries should go beyond the realms of religion and touch the spiritual factor to understand each other and then things would be smooth. But unfortunately a few learned people equate spirituality with religion and misrepresent the cause. Islam is against pessimism but the ideology is wrongly communicated. Communication is vital tool for resolving conflicts but it should not be distorted. Moreover, we seem to be suffering from the syndrome- delusion of persecution,” he said.
Dr. Ahmed was also critical against the invasion of satellite television and the onslaught of the western media. “I still remember how Dilip Kumar refused to bare his chest in the movie Devdas and Nargis was criticised for wearing a night suit on screen. Today, the heroes and heroines are ready to bare all. Nudity is a cultural phenomenon and one should never forget one’s culture. Double-barrel dialogues and blue jokes have become part and parcel of the programme packaging in movies and in the television serials. In India the cultural erosion is rapid and in Pakistan it is slowly creeping in. It has to be arrested by the respective governments before it goes out of control.”
The professor has submitted a number of papers on impact of television on children and his book ‘Terrorism, television violence and innocent child’ earned acclaim.
Giving a glimpse of the media in Pakistan, he said there is no price war. The cover price of reputed newspapers like Dawn and Morning News is around Rs.12 to Rs.18 on varied days, and Urdu papers are sold for Rs.8 to Rs.10. The price depended on the number of pages of print and it is a rule set by the government.
“Pakistan is a country of valleys and mountains but most of it is covered by the television and radio signals. A lot of emphasis is given for agricultural sector, especially by PTV and Radio Pakistan. The press in general is free but at times there are some interferences and we consider it to be only phases or cycles,” Dr. Ahmed disclosed.
SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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