Some are thronging community Web sites and discussion forums like Sulekha, Dialog Now and India Talking to share their fears, appeal to fellow Netizens or simply exchange ideas about the state of affairs. Others participate in egroups that discuss Kashmir and the Indo-Pak crisis.

A few are putting up petitions and pleas, which flit from inbox to inbox, gathering signatures and spreading awareness. Others find like-minded people and form citizen groups, while still others put up their own web sites, hoping to start a movement.

Says MA Husain, administrator of the Web site Save Kashmir Movement, "...Islamists brand me an RSS supporter and a Hindu. My mission is integration of humanity by promoting people-to-people communication."

The cyber-movement he runs from his site and through message boards and e-groups aims to "preserve the pluralist fabric in the J&K state", "to scrap Article 370 and restructure the Centre-State relations for all the States" and to "use the power of cyber communication to organise the people against what is happening in Kashmir and elsewhere in the world."

"I got responses from NRIs and Pakistanis from all over the world and the youth of India. My site aims to defeat Pan-Islamism and terrorism in all its forms."

While Husain's is an individual effort, South Asia Citizens' Web is a collective one. It provides "an independent space on the Net to promote dialogue and information exchange between and about South Asian citizens initiatives [located in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and in their diasporic communities]."

It opposed the nuclear tests, the conflict over Kargil and on June 3 issued a statement, signed by prominent Indians and Pakistanis, that sought a reduction in the tension between the two countries.

The site also serves as a clearinghouse for articles appearing in Indian and Pakistan newspapers that range from proposed solutions to the conflict to pleas for peace.

Elsewhere on the Web, Kashmiri Pandits, a community uprooted by the conflict, have found solace in a virtual homeland. The site hosts information about the 'Kashmiri Pandit Holocaust', horror stories of survivors, an appeal to the global community and a forum.

Even stray individual voices are not lost in the clutter of information online. The popular community Web site Kuro5hin recently ran a post titled 'From An Average Indian': "I am an average Indian citizen and I want to take this opportunity to extend a hand of friendship to you, an average Pakistani citizen. And especially during these times, when the clouds of war are hovering above our countries…" The piece attracted over a 100 comments from people around the world.

Though much of the conversation on message boards and discussion forums on Kashmir is heated and confrontational, you will often come across voices of reason, too. Like a poster on DialogNow, who suggests a wishful solution to the crisis:

"Since, Kashmir is divided between 3 countries (India, Pak, China). These three countries should provide every resident of IOK/POK/COK an individual right to become full-fledged citizen of (the) country of his choice... Thus he would be able to live in the area of his choice (Srinagar, Gilgit, Karachi, Shanghai, Delhi etc). This one-time right will lapse after few years. All three parties can also agree to convert LOC to IB."

On another message board, a poster from Pakistan appeals: "We have to stop attacking Sanskrit or anything else that seems Hindu... The present Talibanisation of Pakistan is a dangerous development. Ashoka and Akbar would be at great unease if they knew what part of their motherland was becoming. The quick demise of the native Sufi Islam and the progress of the more bigoted Deobandi/ Wahabbi ideologies is very sad."

While the Indo-Pak conflict has a long and troubled history, the more immediate threat is of nuclear warfare. And that has not escaped the online world.

"Neither country will win a war in which nuclear weapons are used. The situation in India and Pakistan evidences that the use, let alone the existence, of nuclear weapons is completely irrational because they do exactly the opposite of what they supposed to do. Nuclear weapons do not provide security. Neither India, nor Pakistan, nor anyone in this world is more secure because of the existence of nuclear weapons," observes Carah Lynn Ong, Director of Research and Publications, The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, California. Their site allows you to sign a petition for a missile freeze.

Anti-war organisations like WagingPeace also urge users to sign a petition against nuclear warfare - a petition that 38 nobel laureates have already signed.

As Harry Browne says, war is not something to be left to politicians. So, here's how you can make a difference.

How YOU can make a difference Sign an online petition: MoveOn: No Nukes over Kashmir South Asia Citizens Web: No Nukes Equality Project Make yourself heard: Egroups on Kashmir Egroups about India and Pakistan Usenet group on nuclear war Dialognow is devoted to discussions on issues like "what India should do" and "In event of an India-Pakistan war, what are chances of nuclear war?" Discussions on Sulekha Send a peace mail/card, or sign the guestbook to express your homage to the victims of terrorism at Path2Peace · Stay informed on the issues: Kashmir and Nuclear War