Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace & Democracy (PIPFPD) and Peace Mumbai organized a candle light get together to celebrate the 60th year of Independence of Pakistan and India at the Gateway of India, Mumbai at 8.30 pm on 14th August 2007. A 100-strong crowd representing people from all walks of life gathered to celebrate the occasion.

Actor - Activist Atul Kulkarni read out the pledge, which was repeated by all the people like Chitra Palekar (film-maker), Anand Patwardhan (film-maker), Pushpa Bhave etc.

Pune and Mumbai, 23rd July - 25th July 2007

Pakistan - India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy along with Peace Mumbai had organized public meetings on 'Democratic Aspirations of Pakistan' in Pune and Mumbai on the 24th July and 25th July 2007, respectively. We had invited noted Human Rights Activist and UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief Asma Jahangir and Retd Supreme Court Judge of Pakistan Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid.

Pakistan is passing through a critical phase of its history. Military Dictatorship has deeply entrenched and people are disillusioned. In such a situation fundamentalist and conservative elements try to fill the void. People at large and civil society are trapped in between. The voice of the people got a necessary outlet when legal fraternity with the active support of the people of Pakistan strived against unwarranted and arbitrary suspension of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhary by Presidential order on 9th March, 07. Since then people in general and legal fraternity in particular has waged a struggle for the reinstatement of Justice Chaudhary and restoration of democracy and independence of Judiciary through regime change.         

With this background, to get necessary support from the civil society on the other side of the border, two public meetings and two interactions with civil society, both in Pune and Mumbai, one lecture session for the academicians and students at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Meet the Press at Mumbai and Pune, were organized.  

National Alliance of People's Movements, Sangharsh 2007
Press Release August 22, 2007

Statement by Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy and Sandeep Pandey on the Indo-US Nuclear Deal

 - The India -US Nuclear Deal: Need for all citizens to question and speak out against a deal that is against national security and sovereignty, and takes us further down the path of environmentally disastrous nuclear energy.
 -  Stop the UPA from proceeding before a public debate

Much has been said and written about the India-US Nuclear Deal; beginning with the statement issued by many eminent nuclear scientists soon after the talks on the deal began between India and US governments. Public fora and People's organizations such as Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace called it anti-Sovereignty. Today when it is seen as an issue of conflict between the UPA and its Left front allies, we as representatives of people's movements must re-iterate our stand, which is that the deal is not just anti-democratic but against peace, and against environmentally sustainable energy generation and self-reliant economic development.

August 7, 2007

The Left parties have consistently held that the nuclear cooperation agreement should not be seen in isolation from the overall strategic tie up with the United States. The nuclear cooperation deal is an integral part of the July 2005 joint statement, which has political, economic and strategic aspects. It is also closely linked to the June 2005 military framework agreement signed with the United States.

It is therefore not possible to view the text of the bilateral "123" agreement negotiated with the United States as a separate and compartmentalized entity without considering its implications for India's independent foreign policy, strategic autonomy and the repercussions of the US quest to make India its reliable ally in Asia. Following from the July 2005 joint statement, steps have been taken to entangle India into a complex web of political, economic and military relationships as part of the "strategic partnership". The talk of the two democracies working together on a global scale, the growing influence of US-India forums on economics and commerce and the increasing military collaboration seen through the negotiations for the Logistics Support Agreement, the steadily escalating joint exercises and the inevitable demand that India purchase expensive weaponary from the United States.