Peace Over War: Over 6,100 Sign Petition That Echoes Across India-Pak Borders

From Pune to New York City, Guwahati to Durban, in the wake of escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan, a diverse, eminent group of Indian citizens and anti-war voices from Pakistan and elsewhere have risen to challenge the march toward conflict.

Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, author Dilip D’Souza, activist Dr Syeda Hamid, educationist Lalita Ramdas, physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy, and numerous journalists, writers, priests, musicians, engineers, researchers, social workers, and homemakers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and South Africa have signed a petition calling for an end to war-mongering and censorship in both nations. 

Kanak Mani Dixit, a journalist in Nepal, Anuradha Bhasin from Jammu, India, Badre Alam, activist from Lucknow, Ram Puniyani, and Suraj Budathoki, a State Representative at the New Hampshire House of Representatives, United States, who is of Bhutanese origin, are among the signatories. 

The petition was floated as an intense conflict, which has now ended in a fragile truce, began on 7 May 2025, between the two neighbours. The marking of truce has not seemed to stop interest in signing the petition, as the number of signatures has continued to climb.

Each signatory represents a commitment to humanitarian advocacy, civil resistance to divisive policies, and the message of shared humanity—even during times of violence and unrest.

The petition is based on a joint statement endorsed at a virtual meeting of Indians and Pakistanis on 7 May 2025, the day India launched strikes on alleged terrorist hideouts and camps in Pakistan—two weeks after an attack by militants killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

The statement was later published as a petition on Change.org by Sapan, the Southasia Peace Action Network, which “brings together individuals and organisations in Southasia and the diaspora” to promote peace. 

Sapan intentionally uses the unconventional spelling Southasia to emphasise the region라이브 바카라 unity, geographic continuity, and shared history.

Over a hundred people joined the 7 May online meeting, which was convened by Dr. Sandeep Pandey of the Socialist Party (India), headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 

Dr. Pandey, a Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, had previously organised a peace walk from Jammu to Srinagar after the Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution on 5 August 2019.

In 2024, he returned his Magsaysay Award in protest against the United States’ role in supporting Israel라이브 바카라 bombing of Gaza, a campaign that began in October 2023 and is still ongoing. He was also placed under house arrest to prevent his planned Jammu–Srinagar walk from taking place.

The virtual meeting held on 7 May lasted two hours. Due to high interest in its appeal for peace, new participants had to wait in a queue for earlier attendees to exit before joining the discussion.

According to the statement that emerged from the meeting, it was clear to attendees that both India and Pakistan were undergoing parallel experiences during the conflict: “censorship, hyper-nationalism, and casualties.” The conclusion was unanimous—ordinary people want peace, not war—and this shared sentiment gave rise to the petition.

The list of signatories includes veteran peace activists and a new generation of changemakers who believe in the transformative power of collective action for peace. As of Sunday, 11 May, the petition had garnered over 5,000 signatures, more than a hundred of whom have signed their name to it. Within 24 hours, another 1,000 signatures were entered to the petition. 

The petition urges "the people of India and Pakistan to hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or action that feeds war hysteria... We call on those who believe that peace, not war, is the way forward, to speak out against the politics of hate, violence, and vengeance, and to stand up for dialogue, cooperation, and a shared future of peace and co-existence".

The signatories break not just the international barriers of borders and nationality but region, class, caste, profession, and other differences within India. It also has former armed forces officers as signatories, as well as professors, schoolteachers, climate activists, and businessmen, indicating a widespread interest in peace over war. In India, the petitioners have signed from Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Araria, Udaipur, Bhopal, Satara, Thrissur, Mumbai, Solan, and numerous other places. In Pakistan, the petitioners are from Lahore (AH Nayyar, physicist; Saeeda Diep, activist, and M Tahseen), and Karachi (Sheema Kermani, a cultural activist), and Islamabad (Dr Hoodbhoy). 

Anybody can float a petition on Change.org, which helps influence decision-makers by collecting email addresses that are unique. It's goal is to advance social causes.