Art for peace

In 2001, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the tenth prime minister of India, wrote a letter to the Shahenshah-e-Ghazal, Mehdi Hassan, expressing his concerns over the deteriorating health of Hassan. This shows that the one thing that can help in bringing two nations together is art. Art has no boundaries. At present, the situation between India and Pakistan is critical, but, do we have to bring art into all of this? Why should we let our future generations to live hatred? We should show them the similarities shared by the two countries.

The truth is that we need to reconsider our priorities. It is always a tougher job to let people see beyond differences, but if we do that then maybe it will be this generation that will help in overcoming the tension we have fostered over the years.

Umme Hani

Karachi