| It was the sheer audacity of the suggestion that challenged them: Undo the knot that has vexed their elders for over fifty years. Find a solution to the Jammu & Kashmir problem. |
| For a moment, they baulked and then lapsed into an impotent silence. Gradually, though, they saw the glimmer of an opportunity in the murkiness of the difficulty. They were all students, between 18 to 25 years of age, not much older than Alexander the Great was when he was confronted by the Gordian knot. They came from a diversity of backgrounds – from the north and south of Pakistan, from all over India, and from both sides of Jammu & Kashmir. And they had gathered in the comparative neutrality of a conference on peace held this autumn in New Delhi under the aegis of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. While they possessed no power or authority, they did feel a sense of responsibility, for they knew they belonged to a generation that will have to face the consequences of continuing failure. [EXTRACT] |
| Published in DAWN 13 Dec. 2005, and reprinted in WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE & OTHER WRITINGS (2006). |
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