Let’s Go Beyond Simply Imagining

“Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living life in peace”

John Lennon.

As John Lennon stated in his iconic song “Imagine”, striving for world peace is something which is not the domain of dreamers and idealists but can be a goal grounded in reality, if everyone contributes and plays his or her role. He himself clarified that the time may never come when the world has no separate countries or religions, but there can come a time when no country or religion will claim to be the most superior and all human conflicts are resolved.  I think when the issue of peace is brought up in the context of South Asia, the conflict between India and Pakistan comes to the fore. I certainly do not want to look back at the events which have led to such a tense situation, rather to simply state that it is the events that take place from today onward which will either cause war or peace. By war I am referring not only to a military conflict, but the conflicts often highlighted by historians, such as the overemphasis cultural and religious differences. I have often wondered how our countries could have fought over such issues when neither of the two can claim to be even remotely homogeneous in either cultural or religious terms.  That said, Pakistan and India share more history and culture with each other than they do with any other state- so logically, they should be each other’s strongest allies! We cannot wait for our governments to remove the barriers between Indians and Pakistanis; they can remove visa and trade restrictions (which they are currently doing) but long held misconceptions and prejudices can only be successfully removed via human contact. So let us go beyond simply imagining peace and work towards it by increasing the interaction the citizens of our countries have with each other. I think it would be fitting to end my piece with the chorus of “Imagine”:

“You, you may say

I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one”

Salahuddin Uqaili, DP-1

The International School, Karachi, Pakistan,

TIS, DP-1