CROSSING THE LINES: KASHMIR, PAKISTAN, INDIA

A documentary film by Pervez Hoodbhoy and Zia Mian

Produced for the Eqbal Ahmad Foundation, 2004
(45 minutes)

"A compelling fresh look at an age old problem that could be the spark of a nuclear war."  [Ahmed Rashid, author of Taliban]

"This film violates the grand narrative of nationalism on all sides. It shocks with its unfamiliar humanity." [Khaled Ahmed, Daily Times]

After four wars, Kashmiris and their land are divided between Pakistan and India, the source of recurring crises. The next war may well be a nuclear war. In this tragedy, each side tells the story of the injustice and violence of the other, and feels only the suffering of their own. This path-breaking independent documentary film, made in Pakistan, challenges us to look at Kashmir with new eyes and to hope for a new way forward.

The film uses interviews of key figures and ordinary people from every side, rare archival footage and computer animations to chronicles the wars, the failed efforts at peace and the daily toll this failure exacts on those caught in this tragic struggle. We hear leading Kashmiri militants voice the frustration of their hopes for democracy and their desperate rebellion against oppressive Indian rule. We see how Pakistans relentless determination to confront India created an Islamic holy war that brought terror and death to Kashmir. Radical Hindu leaders in India, and Islamic militants in Pakistan, explain their shared conviction that Kashmir is part of a greater struggle that knows no limits. We discover how amid rising religious passions, governments in India and Pakistan seek to build national identity through cultivating prejudice and hatred towards the other.

Rejecting the national ambitions of Kashmiris, Pakistanis and Indians alike, the film offers a vision of a shared future for all of South Asia built on a common humanity.

This showing is co-sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies and the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding.