Scores of poets, novelists, short story writers and essayists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives are attending the 3-day conference whose theme is 'Cultural Connectivity for Peace' being organised by the Foundation of Saarc Writers and Literature, according to Indian press reports.

Observing that the objectives of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) cannot be achieved only by pursuing economic goals, former Indian prime minister VP Singh said these nations also need a strong cultural dialogue to strengthen the bond among them.

Delivering the inaugural address, Singh said, "It is the right opportunity to impress upon the Saarc nations that culture is the first point to begin with towards convergence and understanding in South Asia. Nobody can ignore this easily understood fact and all concerned should accept this preposition that only by emphasising the necessity of recognising each other's identities and differences, we can reach synthesis."

"It is a cultural and political challenge to use this connectivity to achieve our goals. It is the responsibility of writers, artistes and thinkers to ensure that such opportunities are not wasted," he added.

Asserting that there are many flash points in the South Asian region that need to be addressed in a realistic manner, the former Indian PM said political leaders should tackle these complex issues.

"If the leaders are really serious, they cannot hold peace talks in thin air. Undoubtedly there will be differences, but there should be no conflicts," he cautioned.

Expressing concern over the commercialisation of society and decline in values, VP Singh said in today's mechanised society, individuality is being lost.

"There has been a standardisation of human being, and a man at present is valued by what he has and not by what he is. We need to restore the dignity of man through the values of culture. We are on the brink of destroying ourselves. We need material welfare but we cannot lose our souls," he said.

Addressing the gathering, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who inaugurated the conference at the India International Centre, said there are many commonalities among the nations in the region.

"We together speak and share many languages. We need to come together not just in political or economic terms but also in cultural terms, similar to what is happening in Europe these days. South Asia is the only region in the world where regional cooperation is minimum,” he said.

Incidentally, it is also one of the poorest regions, Jaipal Reddy pointed out, and added, "We need to examine whether the reason behind the mass poverty was lack of regional cooperation. Another reason for this is the massive expenditure on defence. As a result, we do not have much money to invest on development. Therefore, establishing peace is of utmost importance and that cannot be achieved only by holding summits and conferences, but by explosion of goodwill."

The region may be divided by the history of conflicts, but it is also united by the commonality of culture, Reddy said while exhorting the peoples of South Asia to move even beyond because the commonalities of modernity are also binding them together.

Communist Party of India General Secretary AB Bardhan stressed the need for greater cooperation in the region.

"We have to unite politically and become good neighbours, and this can be achieved only by solving or forgetting our differences. We know that over five decades of differences (with Pakistan) cannot be solved within a short span. It is a continuous process where writers and thinkers have a very important role to play," he added.

Welcoming around 50 eminent writers, scholars and thinkers from the Saarc region, founder president of the foundation Ajeet Cour lamented that political leaders have failed to acknowledge the importance of cultural connectivity for peace and development of the region.

"I hope that in the forthcoming Saarc Summit in Bangladesh more impetus will be given to exchange and growth of culture and literature," she added.

The conference, which began amid the earthquake tragedy in Pakistan and northwest India, will press for the creation of a separate Saarc Cultural Centre when the Saarc leaders meet at the 13th summit in Dhaka on November 12-13.