New Delhi: A petition that calls for the people of India and Pakistan to reject divisive ideologies and advocating dialogue over hate and revenge has garnered over 5,500 signatures since it was floated three days ago on change.org.Signed by prominent individuals including filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, Pakistani-American historian Dr Ayesha Jalal, Pakistani physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy, Indian economist Jean Dreze and Nepali publisher Kanak Mani Dixit, the petition condemned violent extremism and terrorism as well as “the targeting of unarmed civilians for any reason including as a means to achieve political ends”.Noting that “communal and faith-based politics” being amplified by the media and social media on either side was creating “the illusion of a consensus for war”, it added that this sentiment has “severely vitiated the political climate in Southasia [sic]”.“Sustainable peace requires a collective rejection of such divisive ideologies by the people of the region,” said the petition posted by the Southasia Peace Action Network, which went on to urge Indians and Pakistanis to “hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or action that feeds war hysteria”.It also opposed attempts to weaponise shared natural resources or bilateral agreements such as under the Indus Waters Treaty or the Simla Agreement.India and Pakistan engaged in a military stand-off that killed civilians as well as security personnel over the last week. This followed India’s conducting missile strikes against ‘terrorist infrastructure’ in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and in Pakistan, which New Delhi said was retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.Both sides agreed to cease fighting on Saturday afternoon.The change.org petition has been reproduced in full below.§The IssueWe, peace activists from India, Pakistan and elsewhere, categorically condemn every form of violent extremism and terrorism.We particularly condemn the targeting of unarmed civilians, for any reason, including as a means to achieve political ends.This cycle must end for peace to prevail. Communal and faith-based politics feeding frenzy on both sides, amplified by media and social media, gives the illusion of a consensus for war.This loud warmongering puts tremendous pressure on governments and armed forces on both sides, as well as inciting the public. It has severely vitiated the political climate in Southasia*, fostering mistrust among citizens.Sustainable peace requires a collective rejection of such divisive ideologies by the people of the region.India and Pakistan must behave responsibly. Any war between these two nuclear-armed nations would be disastrous. As history shows, it is ordinary citizens who suffer the most in conflict, especially women, children, minorities, the elderly, and other vulnerable communities forced to prove their patriotism.We therefore urge the people of India and Pakistan to hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or action that feeds war hysteria.We strongly oppose any attempts to weaponize shared natural resources or historic bilateral agreements. Suspending longstanding agreements like the Indus Water Treaty (1960) or like the Shimla Accord (1972) would erode the basic framework of legality and civility in bilateral relations.We call on all 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.*Why Southasia as one word? Because history, geography and shared struggles say so.Initial signatories:Dr. A.H. Nayyar, physicist, LahoreBeena Sarwar, Journalist, filmmaker, Boston / KarachiDr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physicist, IslamabadSaeeda Diep, activist, LahoreTahira Abdullah, activist, IslamabadSheema Kermani, Cultural activist, KarachiDr. Riaz Sheikh, Historian, KarachiM. Tahseen, Activist, LahoreAnand Patwardhan, Filmmaker, MumbaiLalita Ramdas, educationist, Hyderabad, TelanganaDr. Sandeep Pandey, activist, LucknowFeroze Mithiborwala, Writer, Social Activist, Mumbai, IndiaAnuradha Bhasin, journalist, JammuKanak Mani Dixit, Journalist, KathmanduArundhati Dhuru, Activist, LucknowKhawar Mumtaz, Activist, LahoreLaxmi Murthy, Journalist, BangaloreDr. Syeda Hameed, activist, DelhiAsad Faruqi, Artist/Filmmaker, Karachi / Brooklyn, NYBadre Alam, Social and political activist, Siddharth Nagar, Lucknow,Uttar PradeshDilip D’Souza, writer, BombayPragyan Srivastava, Journalist, Boston/DelhiRam Puniyani, Peace worker, MumbaiSameera Khan, Journalist/Researcher, MumbaiCol. Pavan Nair, Indian citizen, PuneSiraj Khan, Board Chair, Society for Youth BostonMarvi Sirmed, journalist/peace activist (Pakistani-Washington, D.C.)Vinod Mubayi, Co-editor Insaf Bulletin, New YorkVishal Sharma, Researcher/Peace Activist, CoventryDolores Chew, College professor, MontrealDr. Jatinder Maan, PunjabDr. A. Giridhar Rao, World Esperanto AssociationPrabir, Doctor, West BengalSandhya Gokhale, feminist activist, MumbaiMs. Sharmeela de Vas, MumbaiSneha Jayaraj, Attorney, New York City / KeralaSushovan Dhar, Activist, KolkataSuraj Budathoki, New Hampshire State Representative, Manchester NHShahzad Irshad, Author, Oxford/ManchesterVerdah Kazi, Psychotherapist, Brooklyn/KarachiVarsha, teacher, civic society activist, bengaluruHimanshu Gupta, Child protection Social Worker, Ferozepur Guddi S L, Social Political Activist, MumbaiSatya Talwar, Retired professor, DelhiRajashri Dasgupta, Independent Journalist, KolkataBobby Abraham, Creator, KeralaSushil Khanna, Professor (Retd) IIM Calcutta, KolkataRajesh Ramakrishnan, Independent researcher and activist, ChennaiPurnesh Joshi, Software Engineer, Mumbai/PuneMajid nasrullah, Musician, BangaloreSandhyaRoy, Journalist, IndiaVishal, Engineer, MumbaiSamita Kaur, Environmentalist, PunjabHarsh Kapoor, Editor, Mainstream, MontpellierSusan, Retired, BangaloreJyothi, Art facilitator, ChennaiNityanand Jayaraman, journalist/social activist, ChennaiSandhya Srinivasan, Journalist / researcher, MumbaiSagari Ramdas, Veterinary Scientist, Hyderabad, IndiaDr Ashok Kumar Somal, Retired IFS officer, Kangra HPSUNIL MICHAEL CALEB, Professor, KOLKATAMs Foqia Sadiq Khan, Social Scientist, IslamabadNavin, Independent, HyderabadV.Priya, Community facilitator, TirupathiRajeev Raj R, Independent Film maker, New DelhiPrajit Basu, HyderabadAnsloyd Gomes, Artist, Goa/London Siddhartha Mitra, Programmer NYCAditya P, Designer, PuneAbhayraj Naik, Educator and Researcher, Bengaluru / Sri CityJohn D’Souza, Consultant, MumbaiAjin K Thomas, Schoolteacher, ChennaiIshan A., Ecologist, GoaJohn Dayal, Writer, DelhiSadeqa Siddiqui, Activist, Montreal .Swathi, PhD scholar, BengaluruSUMAN BASU, Teacher, KolkataPooja Nirala, Labour Rights Activist, GuwahatiStella James, Researcher, BengaluruApoorva Kulkarni, Scientist/ Artist, Mumbai/ OxfordNiya Tapo, Indigenous Climate researcher, Arunachal Pradesh, RoingManish Kumar, Student, ArariaMohammed Ahmed Khan, Social activist, LucknowSehjo singh, Climate Convener, Delhi/UdaipurPhilip Pinto, Brother, ChandigarhPradeep Ghosh, Social Worker, BhopalBhagwan Awaghade, Core member Rashtriya Dharmnirpekshta Aandolan and Ambedkarite propagating constitutional human values, SataraEla Gandhi, Retired Social worker/ political activist, Durban South AfricaShubhranshu Choudhary, Journalist, DelhiGeeta Seshu, Journalist, MumbaiMubashira Patel, Student, Intern, MumbaiAmjad M Syed, Director sales and operations, BangaloreShweta Damle, Peace Activist, MumbaiTripta Batra, Creative Educator; Writer, Delhi NCRSoumya Dutta, Educator – Researcher – Knowledge activistDelhi NCRMadhavi Swamy-Peters, Rural livelihoods, Kashmir/ Ladakh/ BangaloreRahul Banerjee, Social Activist, IndoreRavinder Pal Singh, Academic Activist, Gurugramharshad tayade, Student of International Relations, MumbaiAmmu Abraham, Activist, on women’s rights and civil liberties,MumbaiSmita Ramanathan, Freelancer, ThrissurGOVARDHAN RAO PANCHINENI, Businessman, HyderabadNityanand Jayaraman, Journalist/social activist, ChennaiAmna Yameen, Researcher/Activist, Islamabad and Hamilton (NZ)Abhishek Taneja, Sustainability Promoter, SolanNishtha Jain, Filmmaker, MumbaiGuru, Concerned Citizen, BengaluruKrithika, Psychologist / Activist, BangaloreJugal Hatila, कृषि, Nokha ( bikaner)Komal, Activist, MaharashtraSangeetha, self employed, MysoreMohammad Imran, Retired, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USARutuja, I/O psychologist, PuneSaravanan V., Ph.D. Student, New DelhiRukmini Iyer, Peacebuilder, Mumbai, IndiaNasreen Rehman, peace activist/historian, Cambridge UK’Ashka Naik, Researcher/Activist, Boston/IndiaAnd others.