July 2, 2009: Peace & Harmony News from S. Asia

[Pritam Rohila]

ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNAL HARMONY IN ASIA (ACHA)
www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org
4410 Verda Lane NE, Keizer, OR 97303, USA
asia...@comcast.net

July 2, 2009: Peace & Harmony News from S. Asia
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndiaPakistanPeaceDay
&
http://groups.google.com/group/peace--harmony-news-from-south-asia

IN THIS ISSUE

*Sufi Society celebrates Khawaja Garib Nawaz Day at Budgam, NAK News,
July 2, 2009
*Couples counseling for India and Pakistan, Deepak Chopra, SFGate,
June 29, 2009
*India, Pak for common stance on climate SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET July
01, 2009
*SAARC rainwater harvesting meet ends SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET | July 01,
2009
__

*Sufi Society celebrates Khawaja Garib Nawaz Day at Budgam, NAK News,
July 2, 2009
http://www.naknews.co.in/newsdet.aspx?21923

SRINAGAR, JULY 01(NAK): In the spiritual background and with
attendance of over 10,000 devotees at Beta Bagh, Budgam, people
celebrated Hazrat Khawaja Ajmer Sharief Day to mark the 772nd annual
Urs of Khawaja Moin-ud-din Chisti (RA) on Tuesday….Sufi singers, while
paying tributes to Garib Nawaz from wee hours, enthralled the audience
with sufiyana music and devotional songs to mark the occasion.
Organized by Sufi Society of Kashmir, thousands of devotees which
included old and young from various parts of the Valley, attended the
function, which was celebrated with traditional fervour and gaiety…

*Couples counseling for India and Pakistan, Deepak Chopra, SFGate,
June 29, 2009
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/06/29/chopra062909.DTL

…. First, the two countries need to recognize their commonality. Both
were born on the same day in 1947, share the same ethnic and many of
the same tribal backgrounds. India has a massive Muslim population,
and on both sides of the border millions more identify as Punjabis.
Their young people go to the same rock concerts and download the same
songs, while their grandparents tell the same folk tales around the
fire and relive the same myths. With this commonality in mind, we
propose a new paradigm for moving toward peaceful relations:
1. Increase people-to-people exchanges.
2. Use the arts and culture in building new cultural bridges.
3. Adopt a proactive realignment in loans to serve all the people, not
just the privileged few.
Make the public feel safer by a joint agreement renouncing nuclear
weapons and massive standing armies on each other's border.
4. Agree to isolate violent extremists of all shapes and stripes,
whether Hindu or Muslim.
5. Resolve the Kashmir conflict through international intermediaries.

*India, Pak for common stance on climate SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET July
01, 2009
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=591133&category=frontend&Country=main&pro=0

NEW DELHI: India said on Tuesday it was working with Pakistan to
evolve a common stance on the issue of climate change at international
level. Expressing concern at the US move to impose trade penalties on
countries not accepting limits related to global warming, Indian
Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said his country
had political differences with Pakistan, but the two countries and
other SAARC nations share the same concerns…

*SAARC rainwater harvesting meet ends SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET | July 01,
2009
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=591137&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN

KATHMANDU: A high- level regional meeting of SAARC countries to share
experiences on rainwater harvesting and encouraging use of rainwater
among countries concluded with a nine-point recommendation on Tuesday.
The three-day meeting on rainwater was organised by the Ministry of
Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW). According to Suman Prasad Sharma,
joint secretary at MoPPW, the meeting recommended establishment of a
South Asia Networking Centre for Rainwater Harvesting to foster
regional cooperation for sharing knowledge and best practices in
rainwater harvesting systems…