AMN / NEW DELHI
Keeping its hope alive to bring together the estranged neighbours, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, a voluntary cross border Indo-Pak friendship initiative on Sunday released the 7th Indo-Pak Peace Calendar here amid the presence of peaceniks.
Adding a special touch to the calendar are paintings by school students of both India and Pakistan. Present at the occasion were Major General (Retd.) TK Kaul (Executive President, India Pakistan Soldiers Initiative for Peace) and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (Spiritual scholar and peace activist).
The 7th Indo-Pak Peace Calendar also includes messages from eminent filmmaker Nandita Das, Major General (Retd.) TK Kaul from India, along with Prof Ayesha Jalal (renowned historian) and Husain Naqi (veteran journalist and human rights activist) from Pakistan. The occasion also began the seminar titled ‘Sharing of Hopes for Peaceful Co-existence’ by voluntary youth initiative Aaghaz-e-Dosti that works voluntary on fostering people to people relations between India and Pakistan.
Speaking at the launch, Ms. Devika Mittal, Convenor, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, said: “We have received great response for Indo-Pak Peace Calendar in last six years. This year too, students from all over India and Pakistan have showered their love in form of paintings. Shattering the glass ceiling of prejudices, the youth has once again paved way for peaceful co-existence by joining hands to fight the diverse forces with love and compassion.”
Adding to the uniqueness of the calendar, Major General (Retd.) T Kaul, Executive President, India Pakistan Soldiers Initiative for Peace, said: “As Nirmala Deshpande always stresses, India and Pakistan house the same people, simply separated by geographies and manmade borders. Our culture, art and sensibilities talk of ancestors who bonded together through centuries. Do not let hate and war come between peace and brotherhood. I applaud Aaghaz-e-Dosti for making this Indo-Pak peace initiative see the light of the day and wish it great success ahead.”
India and Pakistan share a common history and culture but man-made borders have separated the citizens for long. Rising internet penetration and peace effort by the government have brought the youth of the two nations closer, paving a path for a peaceful co-existence. Aaghaz-e-Dosti provides a much-needed platform for youth of the two nations to interact and learn about each other.
Creating an unwavering bond of peace and friendship between India and Pakistan, Aaghaz-e-Dosti seeks to become the medium to discover and recognise the misrepresented reality on the other side of the border. Focusing on citizen diplomacy, the voluntary youth initiative works primarily through peace education. Aaghaz-e-Dosti has so far has touched the lives of over 7,000 students by conducting various training and seminars via 25 ‘Aman Chaupals’ (Peace Sessions) across India and Pakistan. Video conferencing is used extensively to connect classrooms of India and Pakistan in sessions called Indo-Pak Classroom Connect. Members of Aaghaz-e-Dosti also conducts regular exchange of letters and cards between the students of both nations and has recently exhibited these letters at the renowned Faiz Ghar (house of Faiz Ahmed Faiz) in Lahore.
In previous years the Indo-Pak Peace Calendar has received messages from several eminent people including Kamla Bhasin (poet, writer and social scientist) Prof. MS Swaminathan (Father of Green Revolution), Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Kapil Kak, Rahul Jalali (Former President-Press Club of India), Nirupma Subramanian (Sr. Journalist and has been posted in Pakistan for few years) and Amardeep Singh (Author-Lost Heritage-Sikh Legacy in Pakistan), Dr. Anita M Weiss (Academician) and Farooq Tariq (Activist and spokesperson of Awami Workers Party, Pakistan).