2010 Homestays: Indian Seeds host Pakistani friends in Mumbai

MUMBAI | In early January, eleven Pakistani Seeds and one adult educator traveled to Mumbai, India, to participate in the 2010 Indo-Pak Homestays program. The Pakistanis were hosted by the families of their Indian Seed friends for a week of speakers, workshops, and event planning.

Visits between Pakistanis and Indians are rare, and the Seeds of Peace Homestays Program is unparalleled. This year’s visit reciprocates an August 2008 Homestays event in which Indian Seeds were hosted in Lahore.

Some of India's leading historians and educators led workshops with the participants on competing historical narratives surrounding the India-Pakistan conflict, particularly those concerning 1947 Partition. The Seeds now intend to work together on a book comparing these differing narratives on Partition and how they are taught in Indian and Pakistani schools.

Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who is a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, met with the Seeds. Professor Gandhi spoke about his grandfather’s mission of universal peace and provided the Seeds with insights into the nature of the cross border conflict.

To kick off the Homestays, Indian and Pakistani Seeds broke up into small groups to survey public opinion towards Pakistanis on the streets of Mumbai, where reaction ranged from hope for peace to absolute hatred towards Pakistanis.

The Seeds also made joint presentations to school audiences about Seeds of Peace’s mission, visited historical and cultural sites in Mumbai, and participated in a video conference with Pakistani Seeds in Lahore.

Counselor Ben Losman [1] and local representatives of partner NGO, Ashoka Youth Ventures, joined the Seeds to provide them with ideas about how to execute community service programs. Later, the Seeds discussed joint 2010 program possibilities, including a mini-camp in India or Pakistan and a mock parliament session.

Throughout the program, Pakistani Seeds stayed with the families of Mumbai Seeds, experiencing Indian family life and culture up close. Much of the funding for the event was raised by Seeds themselves through a variety of local fundraising efforts.

The 2010 Homestays Program received extensive press coverage, including these newspaper stories:
›› Indo-Pak students script a history of harmony [2] | DNA—Daily News and Analysis
›› India, Pak youths join hands for ‘balanced’ history [3] | Express News Service
›› Students sow seeds of peace [4] | Hindustan Times