Beyond the drumbeats of war, the quiet thrum of peace activism

In the heavy fog of artillery fire, drone attacks and shrill rhetoric, the mere mention of peace or even dialogue seems inconceivable. Early on May 7, the Indian military struck nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Public discourse was triumphant, even encouraging further military action.

In a quiet corner of the internet, a petition by the Southasia Peace Action Network or Sapan urging both sides to end hostilities, had garnered nearly 3,000 signatures in the 24 hours since it was issued on May 9. It may be a drop in the ocean but it reflects the tireless efforts of peace advocates like Lalita Ramdas.

On Saturday evening, when India announced that the two countries had agreed to a ceasefire, Ramdas was relieved – as, she said, “any sensible person would be”.

“I hope this will be the start of a positive, constructive dialogue as the way forward,” she said.

As far back as the 1970s, Ramdas was an anti-nuclear activist. She recalls how her husband, the late Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, reacted to India test-firing nuclear weapons at Pokhran in 1998. “He said, ‘this is probably the worst thing we have done because very soon I know what’s going to happen’,” she said. “And sure enough, on the 11th of...

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