Speakers at an international conference held in India have blamed politicians for the instability and turbulence in South Asia.
They said politicians have created geographical, ethnic, religious and cultural divisions to serve their own interests.
The two-day event, titled ‘Role of Media in Peace and Stability in South Asia’, began on Friday on the Apex University campus at Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Apex University and the Indian Chapter of SAARC Journalist Forum organised the conference.
SAARC Journalists Forum Central President Raju Lama said politicians have failed to explore and exploit the potentials of South Asia.
Apex University Vice Chancellor Dr Professor Somdev Shatanshu said politics of conflict is begetting unrest in South Asian countries, giving a negative impression to the world about this region, which would traditionally disseminate the message of peace.
“Journalists can highlight the tradition of South Asia as an abode of peace. Apart from this, journalists can play the role in track-two diplomacy to build political consensus,” he said.
Apex University Pro-VC Dr Khemraj Chowdhury said SAARC holds immense potential that could not be tapped due to political instability.
He said awareness should be created among politicians as well as among various sections, including social, cultural, and business fronts for taping the benefit of SAARC.
Chowdhury suggested that all the universities in India work on that.
SAARC Journalists Forum Indian Chapter President Smita Mishra said the political boundaries that have been created among SAARC countries should be broken and cooperation should be increased among them.
“Otherwise, South Asia, the messenger of peace for a thousand years, will not find a solution to its problems,” she said.
The declaration of the conference will be adopted on Saturday.
Representatives from SAARC Journalist Forum chapters in counties including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are attending the event.
A two-member delegation from SAARC Journalist Forum Bangladesh Chapter – Rafiqul Islam Azad and Md Rabiul Haque, executive committee members – is representing Bangladesh at the conference.
