Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi warned on Monday about “war-mongering” by Indian journalists during the recent confrontation with Pakistan.
The Indian activist, who won the Nobel in 2014 with Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai, has organised a joint statement signed by 71 other laureates calling for nuclear-armed India and Pakistan to defuse tensions after skirmishes at their border.
Discussing the crisis, Satyarthi expressed relief that the worst confrontation between the countries since they went to war in 1999 had “calmed down”, but he warned about the dangers of ultra-nationalism.
“Many people, not only ordinary people who are patriots and nationalists, but also the media suddenly crossed that line and started demanding fully fledged war,” Satyarthi told AFP in an interview in Paris.
“Sometimes they enjoy these kind of situations. It is very unfortunate,” he added.
“Luckily there are well-meaning people in journalism and politics who are working hard to de-escalate it, but there are a large number of people who crossed the line from patriotism to war-mongering.”
Last month, crisis gripped the region with the intrusion by Indian Air Force jets into Pakistani airspace following the killing of Indian troops in a suicide blast in India-occupied Kashmir.
Two intruding IAF jets were later downed by Pakistan and a pilot was captured, only to be released as a unilateral goodwill gesture that de-escalated tensions between the two countries.
