Aman ki Asha: A Concept Marketing Initiative to Promote Peace between India and Pakistan

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Ever since the partition of the sub-continent in 1947, India and Pakistan had been arch rivals with a deep rooted animosity toward each other. Conflicts arose over bilateral issues such as the separation of Kashmir , terrorism, water dispute , visa difficulties, prisoner's woes, etc. A series of wars over six decades between the two nations had led to mutual hostility. This was exacerbated by the cross-border terrorism resorted to by Pakistan. The cost of this animosity was very high for both India and Pakistan as it hampered bilateral trade and strained political relations between the two countries. Attempts for a sustained dialogue to resolve bilateral issues and make peace proved futile. In 2008, diplomatic relations between the two countries hit rock bottom with the Mumbai terror attacks...

The AKA campaign was launched on January 1, 2010, with a front page joint editorial in TOI and the Jang. The objective of the corporate social responsibility campaign was to initiate peace, encourage people-to-people contacts, and find common ground through cultural exchange, conflict resolution, and commerce opportunities. According to TOI, "'Aman ki Asha: Destination Peace' looks beyond the confines of a 62-year-old political boundary to the primal bonds that tie together the two peoples...

According to industry observers, the peace initiative garnered a lot of interest and captured the imagination of people across the countries. The credibility and outreach of TOI and Jang turned AKA into a civil society movement, they added. Some analysts felt that the campaign had achieved a breakthrough in Indo-Pak relations particularly after the hardening of feelings due to the Mumbai attacks...

While there was plenty of praise for the campaign, it also came under severe criticism from some people in both India and Pakistan. Some dismissed the campaign as just double talk and said it would make hardly any difference in resolving the problems between the two countries...

TOI and Jang planned to organize a second Indo-Pak economic conference 'The Power of the Sub Continent' in Lahore in February 2012. The objective of the conference was to encourage stronger economic development in both countries through collaboration among the business community. Some of the top business leaders in the corporate world and ambassadors of several countries were scheduled to attend the conference...

Exhibit I: Some Print Ads of 'Aman ki Asha' Campaign
Exhibit II: Some Print Ads of Milney Do Campaign
Exhibit III: 'Hankies for Peace' Campaign
Exhibit IV: Impact of 'Aman ki Asha Campaign in India

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