MR. J.SALIK
By Samia Ejaz (The News International, Sunday April 7, 1996)

Born in a modest Christian family of Lahore (Pakistan), Mr. Salik has an inborn impulse to live and serve others, work for sectarian forward undauntedly as a line crusader against despotism and tyranny. Being mindful of the sense of deprivation of the members from his constituency, he, as a token of attachment and sense of belonging has voluntarily adopted a simple way of living and started wearing “Khaki” which in the sub-continent stands for a sign of humility and self-sacrifice. He has raised his voice for the cause of love and peace for all irrespective of caste, creed and colour.
In view of 19 long years (since 1977 to date) of his tireless political struggle on various levels in socio-humanitarian fields, and in recognition of his services he was elected from the position of a local councilor to that of a Federal Minister in charge of Population Welfare a coveted, prestigious and superior position of public responsibility in the Government of Pakistan. As a Member of Parliament representing a constituency of the whole of Christian community of Pakistan he has won distinction, love and respect of all Pakistanis.
Mr. Salik’s political career spans nearly two decades. He has served his constituents both at the local and national level, having been continuously elected by the Christian community of Pakistan five times in the past; thrice as member of established a record of scoring highest number of votes in representing the down trodden classes of people and fighting zealously for the solution of their problems at home and abroad most effectively bringing relief of suffering humanity.
He has had a long record of prolific achievement at home and overseas crusading against inequalities prevailing in the centuries old feudal system in the country and to alleviate the plight of the deprived, depressed and distressed people under this cruel system. His services were acknowledged time and again and people at large had reposed confidence in his leadership role and repeatedly returned him to Parliament as their spokesman.
For all that he achievement he had to pay a very heavy price in the form of extensive imprisonment repeatedly for long durations, during the Military regime particularly when he revolted against General Zia’s dictatorial regime which culminated in the shape of shoot to kill orders, ect. As a part of public protest against despotism, dictatorial and undemocratic regime detrimental to peace, harmony and human fraternity he, his wife and the only son burnt his own house, personal belongings and publicly demonstrated against the tyranny by putting ashes on his head, a novel ideal of protesting against the hegemony of dictatorial rule. On another occasion he had hung himself and had almost crucified himself many a times in the past. He went on hunger strike till death (36 hours at a stretch), long marches for peace, living in make shift camp house for years together are attachment to international peace, promotion of human rights and brotherhood. Mr. Salik has undertaken extensive and hurricane tours at home and abroad which were widely acclaimed international because of his message of love and peace.
Apart from political and social services, his public life is full of struggle for restoration of human rights and sustained efforts for peace and harmony among all religious factions of the country. He has initiated and led many movements for the just cause of the depressed and suppressed sections of the people of Pakistan. He has always raised his voice against human rights violations in any part of the world, especially in Kashmir, Bosnia and the Palestine.
On the occasion of his first Christmas after taking oath as the Federal Minister he along with his wife and only son visited the war torn city of Bosnia against repeated national/international advice because it was extremely unsafe to travel in that part of the world in the situation as it existed. So much so that the authorities at the Bosnian border had advised him that it was not safe to travel but the Minister preferred to offer his prayers in the Catholic Church is Bosnia for the return of peace and harmony in Bosnia. Respecting Minister’s desire he was requested to sign a declaration that he world be personally responsible for his physical security while undergoing the journey within the country. At that juncture his family also advised him to the contrary but had later on accompanied him bowing to the strong will of the Minister and his love for peace. He had nonetheless traveled under flying bullets within Bosnia and prepared the stage for peace which has borne fruit and it is a strong conviction of the Minister that the present Dyton Peace Accord is a result of his mission.
Mr. Salik has been working not only for the Christian community but also for the fundamental rights of people all over the world. As a protest against the massacre of 300 Muslims in India on Eid day in 1980, he wore jute dress for 12 years. During the hostage crisis between US and Iran, he made a fervent appeal to Imam Khameni, the Iranian religious leader and requested for the release of diplomatic hostages on the occasion of Christmas so that they could celebrate the occasion with their families. Similarly during the long Iran Iraq War he went on a long march for peace (on foot), through various cities and covered a distance of 2000 kilometers to reach the border to register his protest against killing of innocent people. He also burnt his home to ashes and lived in a tent for two years to condemn the atrocities committed during the event.
To demonstrate his commitment to the cause of peace, Mr. Salik, founded the Peace Education Foundation of Pakistan (PE.F.P) in 1986 as its convener to promote the noble cause of peace the world over. He has painstakingly gathered the portraits of Nobel Peace Laureates in his home. This prized treasure is being kept as the roudest possession of the Minister. He also organized an exhibition of these rare portraits in August, 1994. The Foundation is committed to an environment that promotes peace and harmony, fosters universal brotherhood of man and encourages amity and understanding. This, the Foundation believes, can be achieved by eliminating every likely cause of conflict between individuals and nations. Since its inception, the Foundation has been persistently pursuing these laudable objective.
The Foundation has organized this exhibition with a view to moving a step forward towards it cherished goal - establishment of global peace. The portraits and paintings which have been put on display here are certainly rare and unique. They are rare because no other single collection of this kind exists anywhere in the world. They are unique since they date back to 1901, the year when the Nobel Peace Prize was instituted. This great deal of struggle and painstaking effort by Mr. J.Salik, the moving spirit behind the Peace Education Foundation and a crusader in the way of peace, who has devoted his entire life to this noble cause.
Previously, these portraits had been jacketed in barbed wire. This was just to depict and convey to the people, the feeling of these noble personalities as perceived by Mr. J.Salik, that this world is not yet a place they had striven and stood for throughout their lives. Then on 1st January, 1995, Mr. J.Salik took the unprecedented step of symbolically ‘freeing the noble souls on ball’ for one year i.e. till 1st January 1996, so that their living compatriots could be made to realize their responsibility towards restoration of peace in such centers of conflict as Kashmir and Bosnia and intensify their efforts to mitigate the suffering to their late colleagues who have long disappeared from the mundane scene but have left their indelible print on the sands of history.
In recognition of his meritorious services and ceaseless struggle for the cause of peace, human rights and devotion to the cause of the down trodden, Mr. J.Salik has lately been recommended by the Government of Pakistan for award of Nobel Peace Prize for the year 1996 first time in the history of Pakistan to any Cabinet member. The decision was taken in a meeting of Federal Cabinet in Islamabad. Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto herself acknowledged the efforts of Mr. Salik towards the cause of working classis and for the alleviation of human suffering in Pakistan and abroad. She paid tribute to him as the most dynamic person in her Cabinet.
The Federal Minister has several years history for upholding human and political values even in the toughest of times and dictatorial regimes.
It is interesting to note that 20 years ago when Mr. Salik’s family migrated to the USA, he refused to go there as an immigrant, in fact he pledged that after a few years he will visit the USA as a Pakistan Government delegate and shall meet the President of USA. At that time it looked like a commoners phantasy but after years of dedication and suffering this dream has become a reality, in fact an example for others to follow.
Being a devoted humanist Mr. Salik has an endless history of personal sacrifice and struggle. He re-signed twice from the office of an elected councilor in the year 1979 and then in 1981 as a protest against the martial law regime. He also observed 39 days hunger strike in support of the rights of Christian community and other minorities in Pakistan.
In his effort to help the down trodden in Pakistan Mr. Salik provided shelter to 8000 Christians and 2000 Muslims in different areas and land ownership rights were given to 30,000 Christian dwellers in 5 villages. Drinking water, electricity, education and other such basic amenities were also provided to the people of these areas.
Over six thousand Christian families all over Pakistan were provided medicines and basic health facilities with the efforts of Mr. J.Salik.
Presently, Mr. Salik’s leadership is working in six important fields viz. Social Dynamic Program, Glorify Knowledge Program, Widows Rehabilitation Program, House Privilege and Labour Privilege Programs, The Social Dynamic Program is a sponsorship fund for marrying girls of deserving families while other programs are concentrating on education, widow rehabilitation and housing.
On population, Mr. Salik believes in maintaining a balance between the size of the family and the extend of its resources. He believes that the poor must be made to realize that poverty can be overcome by giving birth to only those children the family and the country can afford to feed, clothe and educate. He is a strong believer in the community and believes that community participation in population activities is key to the success of any population-planning program.
As Federal Minister of Population Welfare, Mr. J.Salik, led Government delegation to Cairo Conference on Population and Development held in September, 1994 and also represented Government of Pakistan in the 5th International Congress on Maternal and Neo Natal Health held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in November, 1994.
Mr. J.Salik is a true representative of People’s Government. His doors are always literally wide open for homeless, starving and needy people. He never hesitates to help whatever little he could do. There is a long list of welfare-oriented jobs he has done, but some of them distinguish him. His 1995 meet the public Marathon Tour of 27 district of Punjab was unique example of going to the door steps of public for the solution of their problem. He met tens of thousand people. He listened thousands of needy people and solaced much more. He took first hand information direct from the people and ried to solve their problems.
He devoted 20 million rupees of his allocated development funds for improving the deplorable conditions of deprived people living in slums of Islamabad for proving proper living condition.
In 1995 he celebrated his Christmas with Kashmir people. He along with his family went to Kashmiri refugees Campus and spent two nights with them. This was a gesture of solidarity against the massive violations of human rights, victimization and virtual genocide of peace loving people.
Mr. Salik has courage of conviction. He leads a simple life. As a token of unity with deprived masses he has confined his dress to ‘Shalwar Kurta’ without wearing warm clothing even in below freezing temperature. He has forbidden himself to eat meat till all Pakistanis can afford to eat meat.
First time in the history of Pakistan he managed to send Christians to Vatican City (Rome) on the eve of Easter.

J.Salik, Symbol Of Love And Peace
Shazia Malik, (The Nation, Isb June 2, 2000)

To start writing on J.Salik one is reminded of W.T. Young’s words, “ in the effort to become perfect not in accomplishment, but in the strife to accomplish.” Life is constantly progressing to higher and higher levels. In the imperfection of man lies our hope of further advancement and J.Salik also looks at life from this standpoint. What is loftiest and noblest in one generation is surpassed by something still loftier a therefore, still truer in the next. For this advancement, for persistent struggle with evil is necessary. Only greater and greater approximation to get ideal is possible without the foe. But it is this foe that offers opportunity to us to move ahead spiritually. The long struggle of this ex-minister is nothing short of ordeals moving ahead with a lot of zeal but never becoming corrupt. I met J.Salik during many seminars and functions when he was the Minister of minorities and I also disagreed with him on a number of topics, but he never kept anything in his heart against me and would meet in the same friendly way the next time. His unpretentious ways, behavior, and appearance with a simple dress could not impress many in the country and in many circles his voice remained inaudible, but his struggle for the oppressed and under-privileged impressed all, though a few accepted this fact. His struggle to give voice to millions in this country in beyond any faith. It is for all Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. His struggle is fashioned in the same way of Mao, Lenin and Marx and his philosophy of life is nothing other than that brought about by the Prophet of Islam, Mohammad (PBUH) i.e. love, tolerance and peace. Even during intense mental agitations he never tried to commit any crime or became rash. Though he is a fiery speaker, but during his speeches, he never condemned anyone or abused anyone. He has strived to achieve his goals through peaceful dialogue, always living in a very sane frame of mind. To many his speeches do not make any sense, but those who can read between the lines, his speech appears nothing short of rhythmic prose. In a stagnant society like ours only Bohemians like J.Salik can bring about any change. He is the leader of all the oppressed, irrespective of their faiths in this Islamic Republic.

 

Mr. J.Salik an Interesting Politician
By Naeem Bokhari

The majority of Pakistanis is born poor. Our central superior services are composed of people whose origins are rooted in poverty and yet they have done well. The other fact that Mr. J.Salik is a Christian in a predominantly Muslim country is really an incident of birth and we have had many eminent people from this faith. On these two accounts Mr. J.Salik is not to be admired.
What distinguishes Mr. J.Salik is his ability to make politics interesting. After his last stint as a federal minister he chose to leave Islamabad on a camel caravan. Which minister can think of such a departure?
Many years ago I saw him on Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam Lahore in front of the National Assembly half buried in the arlth with his arms spread in a symbolic reference to the Holy Prophet Jesus Christ on the cross. It made an impressive spectacle which was ruined by an un-timely police lathi charge forcing Mr. J.Salik to abandon his cross but not before highlighting the cause with lathi marks on his naked back. Although without a formal education, Mr. J.Salik is capable of speaking extempore for hours pausing only to take the occasional breath and by the large making more sense than many “education” politicians.
While interviewing him on television he incidentally added to my knowledge casually but remarkably. Whereas we revere the 25th of December as the birth date of the Holy Prophet Jesus Christ, Mr. J.Salik reminded me that the first day of the new year was the day on which the Holy Prophet Jesus was circumcised and that is the reason for its celebration by the Christians. Since this piece of information was not authenticated, it was decided to spare generating a fresh controversy on this account and the statement was edited out from the program telecast by PTV.
Mr. Salik retains a strange embodiment of innocence despite being in politics for so long. It is almost impossible to retain innocence in this field but some he has managed it. This by itself is no mean achievement. He also retains a sense of his roots.
Although he has many detractors in his own community, he is a formidable political entity with an uncanny ability to raise the right issue at the right time. One can only wish such a man success and pray that he gets the flag back on his car.
 

Janooni
Mr. Irshad Ahmad Haqqani (Daily Jung, dated 6th October, 1992)

Mr. Irshad Ahmad Haqqani, leading columnist, editor of the largest Urdu daily “Jung”, intellectual and political analyst, devoted an entire column to J. Salik. He wrote:
“Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had once said: “Do not speak ill of the maniacs: if I was not a maniac Pakistan could never have been achieved.” By a maniac Mr. Jinnah had meant a person who has dedicated all his faculties and material assets to some noble cause or objective. In the words of the Quran he is oblivious of the barbs of critics and jesters. The “maniac” who dedicates himself to a particular cause cannot do full justice to his mission unless and until he shows complete and total commitment to his cause. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan adopted the mission of spreading modern education in the Muslim masses and displayed such total commitment to his cause that people started calling him a maniac. When someone asked him to dine with him he requested that the cost of the meal may be donated to his Aligarh education fund. He even took donations from Muslim prostitutes and silenced his critics by declaring that the money so obtained will be spent on the construction of latrines. He went to the extent of exclaiming that he was prepared to dance to any tune to generate funds for his noble cause.
When some mission or cause takes total and complete possession of a person's body and soul he becomes totally oblivious of public opinion or criticism. He operates on a different and higher plane over and above the considerations of common sense and social ethics and morality.
This lengthy explanation was necessary to comment on the reactions and antics of the minority's representative J. Salik in the National Assembly. Christian MNA Salik wept bitterly in the Assembly session while complaining about the unjust, prejudiced and illegal treatment meted out to him. At this our law minister, who has no concept of the law, who can’t even say “law minister” with a proper English pronunciation had the indecency to call him a maniac. Yes J. Salik is a “maniac” in a positive and constructive manner. He is an enemy of class distinction and exploitation. He is an ascetic and in spite of all facilities he is not prepared to become a part of the privileged class. He struggles for the poor, the oppressed and the exploited.
In the procession taken out by journalists to protest against the false charge of sedition against the newspaper “The News” Salik was in the forefront. He shouted slogans in favour of freedom of the press and speech. J. Salik is neither a journalist nor has he got any links with “The News” raising his voice against injustice and discrimination is his nature. In today's society full of selfishness, greed, corruption and materialistic values how many J. Saliks can we find who have the moral courage and guts to resist all sorts of temptations and inducements and yet continue to raise their voice against injustice and exploitation, even when they are dubbed mad.
Traditional and prevalent customs dictate that after being elected a minority member he should sell himself like any marketable commodity, side with the ruling elite, and become a part of the “Pajero culture”. He has been repeatedly tempted by officers of lucrative political offices. He has been provided with the opportunity to change his social status and to take part in the loot and plunder. People with a much lesser following are occupying high offices but J. Salik is a “maniac” and he refuses to understand traditional sense and values. His one great complaint is that by adopting the separate electorate system the promise made by the father of the nation has been negated and dishonoured. He wants to be a part of the mainstream and longs to contest elections in which Muslims and non-Muslims both vote for him. He complains that the founder of Pakistan had assured the minorities that they will be equal citizens of Pakistan and there will be no discrimination, but they have been removed from the mainstream national politics.
A minority politician has the whole of Pakistan as his constituency. J. Salik himself contested elections from a constituency, which had 33 thousand polling booths. Is it possible for any under-privileged person to even make a round of so many booths? What to say of appointing polling agents to guard against rigging or election fraud. J. Salik was elected from one such constituency by a landslide. The rulers want him to collude with them and to extract his price for political co-operation but Salik is a “maniac” and a “fanatic”. He is against the status quo, he is an enemy of injustice, cruelty and inequality, he is in rebellion against the present politics of exploitation, corruption and loot and reject with contempt all offers of money and riches. He is being punished for his “fanaticism”, his funds are blocked and Christian widows are deprived of help because J. Salik has refused to side with the rulers and behave like “His master's voice”.
J. Salik has refused to become a conformist member of the National Assembly. Such behaviour is against his grain, his nature, his code of ethics and morality, his social and political philosophy and his personal integrity.
This is what has made him so unpopular with the rulers and they call him mad, crazy and a lunatic. Salik is not crazy or lunatic. He is a normal, intelligent person who wants to do justice to his role of the poor man's representative. Chowdry Ghafoor is right when he says that Salik was mad before becoming an MNA but Salik's “madness” is for above Ghafoor's sanity because it was J. Salik who burnt all his worldly possessions to shake the conscience of the nation and to attract attention towards the injustice and illegal attitude of the government. His children are sleeping on the bare floor and he poured ashes on his head to protest the apathy of the rulers. He refused to sit on his seat in the National Assembly, he asked for a low chair to show the world that he is only a second-class citizen. J. Salik's antics could be classified as “lunacy”. He may be “mad” in the eyes of the feudal lords and tribal leaders but the charge of madness leveled by the speaker, Mr. Gohar Ayub Khan, is devoid of parliamentary etiquette, decency and even common courtesy.
J. Salik is not “mad”. He is an idealist and a fanatic for a cause, a cause that may appear to be un-important, useless and of no consequence to the corrupt and the greedy. Even maniacs have certain dreams by the aid of which they try to weave the web of heavenly bliss for their community.
J. Salik is one such “maniac”. He deserves praise instead of condemnation. He is the last of a dying breed."

 

Atta-ul-Haq Qasmi
Atta-ul-Haque Qasmi, poet, writer, columnist and Pakistan’s current ambassador to Norway wrote about Julius Salik:

"These days I start my day with a cup of tea and a telephonic talk with J. Salik. This conversation is so exciting and interesting that I feel like writing my newspaper column in the middle of this dialogue. A few years ago when the Lahore police had brutally beaten the crucified MNA on the Mall Road I had written a column in his favour. I have waited all these years to pen some more lines in his support. Many happenings during the last few days could have become topics of newspaper columns but so many other writers were writing about him that I postponed my intentions of writing about him because I do not want to be one of the crowd.
The morning I got a call from J. Salik and now I am obliged to lay down these few lines for the record. J. Salik is worried about the present wave of accountability. According to him he can account for all his actions except that he does not have a receipt for a bicycle which is missing since the day he arranged a rally of intellectuals against illiteracy. The cycles were provided by Salik's department. One of the federal ministers in the interim government had collected this bicycle on the plea that he will attend the rally by cycling to the venue. The minister neither attended the rally nor returned the bicycle. Now J. Salik is worried that if the accountability people want proper receipts what is he going to do. He has requested the concerned minister to send him a receipt for the bicycle in question but he continues to be worried and disturbed on account of the missing bicycle.
I asked J. Salik if he has been offered a cabinet post by the interim Prime Minister Malik Mairaj Khalid. He replied in the negative. I asked why not? He replied: “In our culture when a girl is betrothed she wears a prominent engagement ring so that nobody is embarrassed by making the mistake of asking for her hand in marriage. My political affiliation is now very well known so Mr. Malik did not even mention the subject to me.”
J. Salik wore a khaki dress during his tenure as federal minister. He has now taken off the khaki coloured clothes and wears only white coloured shalwar kameez. When I asked him for an explanation, he replied: “Workers wear overalls during working hours and since I am not working now I have decided to take off my working uniform.” All this really proves that J. Salik is really a “lunatic” and in spite of his lunacy he was the federal minister for population planning and welfare. According to the published reports of UN agencies like Unicef the rate of population growth in Pakistan during his ministry had been reduced from 3.1 percent to 2.8 percent per annum.
During his stint as federal minister J. Salik did not allow any official to go abroad or take duties of constancy at state expense? His own father was sick and under treatment in the USA. Eight thousand dollars were officially sanctioned by the government of Pakistan along with air passage for Salik's tour of the USA. J. Salik cancelled his official American tour because he did not want to visit his sick father at state expense. This action of Julius Salik provides another evidence of his “ lunacy”."
 

Hamid Mir
(The Daily Pakistan dated December 1996)
Famous writer and columnist Hamid Mir gave vent to his feelings about J. Salik:

“J. Salik is a second class citizen, which he claims is his destiny. He cannot contest elections from any constituency, only first class citizens can do that. J. Salik can contest for a Christian seat and only Christians can vote for him. When he became a federal minister he was allotted Bangalow No. 2 in the Ministers Colony in Islamabad. J. Salik became member of the National Assembly thrice and three times the assembly was dissolved prematurely. He says only one assembly completed its term and the leader of the house in this assembly was Z. A. Bhutto. Bhutto's assembly completed its term because elections to this assembly were held by the joint electorate system. There was no distinction of Christian, Hindu, Parsee or Muslims. J. Salik now claims loudly that if the 1997 elections are held on the basis of separate electorate this assembly too will not complete its full term.
J. Salik is an eccentric and people sometimes call him an actor and a dramatist. He went on a 2,000 kms march during the Iran-Iraq war, to protest against the killings of Muslims in India he wore jute cloth, but there are two incidents which negate the charge of acting on J. Salik. I am an eyewitness to one of these incidents. During the premiership of Nawaz Sharif his development funds were blocked. To protest against this injustice Salik put himself up on a cross at the Charring Cross-area of Lahore. At first people look it as a political stunt but after 24 hours on the cross his condition deteriorated and thousands of people collected around him. On the orders of the then chief minister, Mr. Ghulam Haider Wayen, the police force resorted to a baton charge and threw tear gas shells at the supporters and sympathizers of J. Salik. Salik was tied to the cross, his supporters uprooted the cross and started running from the scene. The police ran after them. Many supporters were arrested and J. Salik was brutally beaten by the police officials. As a news reporter I was present. I tried my best to stop the police brutality but they continued to thrash J. Salik.
J. Salik did not shout or howl. He did not even beg for mercy and continued to receive his punishment in a calm and stoic manner. An actor or stuntman just cannot bear violence in such a brave manner. The other incident occurred about two years ago. When the conflict between Muslims and Christians took an ugly turn in Bosnia, Salik flew to Geneva along with his wife and only son. Pakistan's permanent representative Mr. Marker tried to dissuade Salik but he hopped a ride on a UN aircraft, landed in Bosnia, rode to the nearest church on a UN tank and conducted prayers for Christian-Muslim unity. Stuntmen do not put their lives at risk.
Julius Salik's biggest drawback is that he is a commoner. When he took his oath of office in 1994 he had no idea about role of his ministry. After becoming a federal minister he devoted himself body and soul to the task of family planning. His predecessor was Rana Nazir Ahmed Khan who had six offspring and Salik thought that he has been given the portfolio of family planning probably because Benazir Bhutto knows the exact number of his children.
J. Salik is the father of only one son. After becoming a federal minister Salik handed over his packet of cigarettes and lighter to the health secretary with the remarks:
“You have written on this packet that smoking is injurious for health if as a federal minister I do not take your warning seriously how can we expect the common citizen to act on your advice.”
Immediately after becoming a minister Salik wore khaki uniform, gave up meat eating and declared: “I am not a minister but a public servant.” He ordered the recitation from the Quran every morning at five past nine and the day was started with the Holy name of God. He placed attendance registers and all workers from grade 1 to 22 were made to record their daily attendance in office. He made the driver of his official limousine Ghulam Nabi the president of the drivers union and personally managed his election.
When the assemblies were dissolved Salik was on his way to Lahore, where he was to take part in a rally of 20,000 school children in the open-air theatre. In spite of the dismissal of the government Salik reached Lahore and thanked the school children for their participation.
J. Salik does not own even an inch of land anywhere but he managed to get ownership rights for the dwellers of 14 shanty towns of Islamabad. In a few days Salik will lead a caravan of camel carts from Islamabad to Lahore. He will decorate the camel carts with the portraits of all the past recipients of the Nobel peace prize. The camel march is a peace march. I asked Salik why he has resorted to this camel march and he replied: “The camel is a docile and peaceful animal, it remains hungry and thirsty but does not protest, it walks docilely through devastated areas and continues his peace march. This land is also being devastated. People are deprived and oppressed, they are in need of peace and harmony, and they keep walking like camels in quest for peace. The purpose of the camel march is to convey a message of peace and love.”